Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1999, published 88th ILC session (2000)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Iran (Islamic Republic of) (Ratification: 1972)

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report, including the attached labour market statistical data.

1. The National Statistics Centre figures provided reflect that 29 per cent of the population is employed in the public sector and that 35 per cent of employed women in urban areas work in the public sector. The Government states in its report that the statistics disaggregated by sex indicate that 63 per cent of working women in urban areas are public sector wage and salary earners. The Committee notes the Government's statements that civil servants and public enterprise employees are entirely covered by job classification schemes, and that public sector salary scales are based on gender-neutral criteria, including post, grade, length of service and level of education. However, as information is not provided on wage levels and earnings of men and women, the Committee is unable to assess the manner in which the principle of equal remuneration is applied in practice. It would therefore be grateful if the Government would provide information, including statistical data, on public sector salary scales, the distribution of the percentage of men and women employed in the various occupations and at the different levels of the public sector, minimum wage rates and average monthly earnings, disaggregated by gender. In this connection, the Committee draws the Government's attention to its 1998 general observation and to the fact that the Office remains available to provide it with technical assistance as appropriate.

2. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to supply information regarding the application of the Convention in different workplaces in order to determine the manner in which the principle of the Convention is applied in enterprises employing only or mainly women workers, where the possibility of comparisons between the work performed by men and women is necessarily limited. The Committee notes the Government's clarifications in this regard, including its statement that the wage determination and job classification system is based on the principles of non-discrimination and equal remuneration and would not be affected by the gender balance of the employees in an enterprise. The Committee points out that, since job evaluation is an inherently subjective method, sex stereotyping may result in an undervaluation of jobs held mainly by women, even when the applicable law or the methodology utilized in the objective appraisal of jobs is gender neutral on its face. For example, factors and factor weights used in job evaluations may fail to give sufficient consideration to qualifications regarded as intrinsically feminine, such as interpersonal or caring skills, manual dexterity or aesthetic skills (see 1986 General Survey, paragraphs 145 and 256). Accordingly, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information in its next report on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value in the evaluation of jobs or occupations predominately held by women, including information on the criteria used in the job evaluations.