Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Slovakia (Ratification: 1993)

Articles 1(b) and 2(2)(a) of the Convention. Work of equal value. Legislation. For more than a decade, the Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to the fact that section 119a(2) of the Labour Code does not give full expression to the concept of work of equal value. The Committee notes that the Government, in its report, considers its legislation to be in line with the principle of the Convention and further states that the Labour Code cannot be a comprehensive tool for resolving different wages for different employers and in different sectors. The Committee notes with regret that the legislation continues to be narrower than the principle of the Convention and refers the Government to its 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 676–679 and 697–698. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to amend the definition of “work of equal value” provided for in section 119a(2) of the Labour Code, in order to give full legislative expression to the principle of the Convention. In doing so, the Committee requests the Government to ensure that, when determining whether two jobs are of equal value, the overall value of the jobs is considered and that the definition allows for jobs of an entirely different nature to be compared free from gender bias and that the comparison goes beyond the same employer. Noting the absence of information provided in this regard, the Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the application in practice of section 119a(2) of the Labour Code, including by providing concrete examples of the manner in which the term “work of equal value” has been interpreted in administrative or judicial decisions.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.