Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 82nd ILC session (1995)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - China (Ratification: 1990)

1. The Committee notes the information contained in the Government's first report on the application of the Convention. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide further information on the following matters in its next report.

2. Article 1(a) of the Convention. The Committee notes that there is no general definition of "wages" in the 1994 Labour Act and that it is therefore not clear that all elements of remuneration are included within the concept of wages or remuneration as in this provision of the Convention. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government to the 81st Session (1994) of the International Labour Conference concerning the application of the Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26). It requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure that the principle of equal remuneration is applied to all payments made to workers above the minimum rate, including "any additional emoluments whatsoever payable directly or indirectly, whether in cash or in kind, by the employer".

3. Article 1(b). The Committee notes that the provisions giving expression to the principle of equal remuneration call for "equal pay for equal work" for men and women (article 48 of the Constitution, section 46 of the Labour Act 1994, section 23 of the Act concerning the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women 1992, and sections 8 and 9 of the 1982 Organic Law of the Local Peoples' Congresses and Governments). The formulation used nationally thus appears to be narrower than that set out in the Convention which, in making the "value" of the work the point of comparison, extends the concept of pay equality beyond cases where men and women perform the same or similar work to the more usual situation where they undertake different work. Accordingly, the Committee requests the Government to indicate any measures taken or contemplated to reflect in legislation, the principle of the Convention. The Committee also requests the Government to provide copies of the Organic Law of the Local Peoples' Congresses and Governments, 1982.

4. Article 2. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the criteria applied to determine the classifications and to fix corresponding wage scales for employees of the central and provincial administrations. Please also supply copies of the categories and wage scales in force in these administrations, together with an indication as to the numbers or percentages of men and women employed in the various categories.

5. The Committee notes from section 85 of the 1994 Labour Act that the labour administrative departments of the county and higher-level peoples' governments are responsible for the supervision and inspection of the labour legislation and regulations. The Committee requests the Government to furnish copies of any regulations adopted pursuant to the 1994 Labour Act (as well as any other relevant regulations or instructions adopted by government departments or by the standing committees of the people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities) and to provide further information on the means and procedures by which an individual or a group of women workers may submit and have determined a claim for equal pay. In addition, it requests information on the specific means by which the authorities responsible for implementing the Labour Act enforce the principle of equal pay, the number of instances of non-compliance with the principle detected or reported, and information on the outcome of those cases.

6. The Committee notes that the Government intends to apply in enterprises, a new system of wages fixed by position and skill. The Committee requests the Government to indicate how the principle of equal pay is assured in respect of workers in receipt of wages determined by enterprises under this newly instituted system. The Committee also requests the Government to furnish copies of the instructions issued to enterprises concerning this method of wage fixing and to provide some examples of the wage classifications and rates set according to this system.

7. Recalling that all workers in the economy are to be afforded the right to equal pay, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to apply the Convention to those workers not yet covered by either minimum wage rates or by this new system of fixing wages. Particular information is sought on the means by which the principle of equal pay is applied to women workers in agriculture, building and construction, education and health, to those working in small and medium-sized enterprises and to those working in special economic zones.

8. Article 3. The Committee has noted the information provided on the pilot programme to introduce the wage-fixing system referred to under Article 2 above. It appears from the report that, under this programme, wages are to be fixed on the basis of evaluations of a worker's quality and quantity of work, in accordance with the principle of distribution according to work, and on the basis of criteria such as level of skill, duties, intensity of work and labour conditions. Moreover, it appears that a special wage weighting will be given to two of these factors, the position held by the worker and the skill brought to the job. The Committee refers to paragraphs 57 to 58 of its 1986 General Survey on Equal Remuneration in which it observes that while the criteria of quantity and quality appear objective, only work of the same kind can be measured comparatively by these standards. Such criteria thus limit the scope of comparison to the performance of substantially identical jobs, whereas the Convention contemplates also the comparison of jobs of a different nature. While appreciating that these standards and criteria have been developed to determine a general wage system, it is not clear how they will also be applied and developed to satisfy the general principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of sex. Accordingly, the Committee requests the Government to consider including in the system, criteria which may make it possible to set wages on the basis of comparisons between the different work of men and women. In this respect, the Committee refers the Government also to paragraphs 150 to 152 of the above-mentioned General Survey. The Committee requests the Government to furnish a copy of the circular issued by the Ministry of Labour concerning the above-mentioned pilot programme.

9. In order to illustrate any progress made in reducing the wage differential, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any surveys or studies carried out, including statistical data, on the actual wage rates paid to men and women in the economy generally, or in particular regions or sectors of employment. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether consideration has been given to collecting wage statistics disaggregated by sex. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would provide information on any measures taken by the All-China Women's Federation or other women's federations to ensure and promote the application of the Convention.

10. Article 4. The Committee notes that the new wage system (referred to under Articles 2 and 3 above) - and the appraisal methods applied in respect of that system - are to be adopted in individual enterprises following consultation with the workers' congresses of those enterprises. It also notes that the principle of equality is to be observed in the making or revising of labour contracts, under section 17 of the Labour Act, 1994; and that trade unions and other relevant organizations are given a role in safeguarding women's rights and interests under section 5 of the 1992 Act concerning the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the actual methods adopted to cooperate with workers' and employers' organizations in the application of the Convention, with particular emphasis on any positive measures taken to give effect to the principle of equal remuneration.