Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Mozambique (Ratification: 1977)

Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that minimum wage setting is left to tripartite consultations undertaken per sector of economic activity. The Committee recalls that the fixing of minimum wages can make a significant contribution to the application of the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value, and wishes to stress that it is important to ensure that the job evaluation method used to determine wage rates is free from gender bias. The Committee asks the Government to indicate how it is ensured that, in defining the minimum wages for the various sectors, rates are fixed on objective criteria, free from gender bias, and that female-dominated occupations are not undervalued in comparison with those predominantly undertaken by men.

The Committee recalls that some of the underlying causes of pay inequality have been identified in the horizontal and vertical occupational segregation of women into lower-paying jobs or occupations, and lower-level positions, and notes the absence of further information in the Government’s report. The Committee therefore once again asks the Government to:

• (i) provide information on the implementation of the Gender Equality Policy and Implementation Strategy adopted in 2006, particularly as regards the measures aimed at promoting women’s access to training in areas traditionally dominated by men, and its impact on promoting the application of the principle of the Convention and reducing wage inequalities between men and women, as well as on the application and impact of any other relevant measures, including those taken under the Employment and Vocational Training Strategy with a view to addressing occupational segregation; and
• (ii) collect and provide statistical information on the levels of women’s and men’s earnings in the various sectors of the economy and the various occupations and positions in the private and public sectors.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee refers to its previous comments on section 251 of Labour Act No. 23/2007 and notes the information provided by the Government concerning the range of cases that are listed in this section in which the professional appraisal of workers is required. While noting this information, the Committee recalls that section 251 refers to the evaluation of workers’ skills and qualifications also for the purpose of wage classification. It wishes to stress that the reference in Article 3 of the Convention to objective appraisal of jobs is different from the concept of the performance evaluation of the employee, as objective job evaluation is concerned with evaluating the job and not the individual worker. In this regard, the Committee recalls that the objective evaluation of jobs involves the adoption of some technique to measure and compare objectively the relative “value” of the jobs performed, comparing factors such as skill, effort, responsibilities and working conditions, with a view to ensuring that workers performing different jobs but of equal “value” receive equal remuneration. Whatever methods are used for the objective evaluation of jobs, particular care must be taken to ensure that they are free from gender bias. Often skills considered to be “female”, such as manual dexterity and those required in the caring professions, are undervalued or even overlooked, in comparison with traditionally “male” skills, such as heavy lifting (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 701). The Committee therefore once again asks the Government to indicate how in practice the assessment of workers’ skills and qualifications contributes to wage classification, as stipulated in section 251 of the Labour Act, and to provide information on the criteria used in appraising such skills and qualifications.

Article 4. Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. Recalling the important role played by the social partners in giving effect in practice to the principle of the Convention, the Committee once again asks the Government to indicate the manner in which it cooperates with employers’ and workers’ organizations to promote the effective application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.