Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Switzerland (Ratification: 1972)

With reference to its previous direct requests, the Committee notes the information contained in the Government's report and the documents appended to it.

1. The Committee notes from the report that the procedure for the adoption of the draft text of the federal Bill respecting equality between men and women, which was drawn up following the recommendations contained in the report of the Working Group entitled "Equal Remuneration" in 1988, is following its normal course. The draft will be examined by the National Council in plenary sitting at the earliest during its spring 1994 session. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the progress achieved in this procedure and to supply the text of the law when it is adopted.

2. With regard to the activities of the Federal Bureau on Equality, the Committee notes with interest the publication in March 1992 of the brochure "Men and women are entitled to an equal wage for work of equal value". The pamphlet contains directives relating to the Federal Constitution and the application of the right to equal wages, as well as to methods of evaluating work and the equivalence of activities, together with recommendations intended for enterprises, staff associations, trade unions and women. It would be grateful if the Government would supply information on the effect given in practice to these directives and recommendations and on the results obtained with regard to the application of the principle set out in the Convention.

3. The Committee notes with interest that three new equality bureaus have recently been established at the cantonal level. It requests the Government to continue supplying information on the extension of the network of equality bureaus and their activities in relation to the Convention.

4. With regard to the wages surveys, the Committee notes that work is continuing on the revision of the methods currently used to carry them out. It would be grateful to be provided with information on the outcome of this work, and in particular with regard to the improvements made to the methods of collecting and analysing data concerning wage differences for men and women workers for work of equal value.

5. The Committee refers to the information provided previously by the Government on the outcome of the wage survey carried out in 1991 by the Swiss Federation of Metal Workers and Watchmakers, the results of the wage survey carried out by the Swiss Society of Commercial Employees on commercial employees and sales staff in certain sectors, and the results of the econometric study commissioned by the Working Group on Equal Remuneration, which tend to show that the difference between the wages paid to men and women workers for work of equal value is very large and that, according to the above econometric study, the gap is generally 21.5 per cent (corrected data) for workers of Swiss nationality and 29.1 per cent (corrected data) for workers of foreign nationality. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply recent statistics if they are available indicating the progress achieved in reducing the difference between the remuneration of men and women workers performing work of equal value, particularly in the above sectors and in other sectors in which surveys have been carried out recently.

6. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the measures which are envisaged, in the context of the draft text of the federal Act referred to above, to strengthen supervision of the implementation of legal provisions relating to equal remuneration for work of equal value, and particularly on the competent supervisory bodies and their means of action. It also requests the Government to continue to supply detailed information on court decisions relating to matters of principle concerning the application of the Convention.