Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2000, published 89th ILC session (2001)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Germany (Ratification: 1956)

1.  In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the measures that had been taken or were envisaged to bring about a more balanced representation of men and women in skilled and unskilled categories of workers in production industries, and to reduce wage gaps. The Committee notes with interest that, on 23 June 1999, the Federal Government adopted a programme entitled "Women and Occupations", with the objective of achieving equality of treatment between men and women workers in private industry and the abolition of all obstacles to the achievement of such equality. In the context of this programme, the Government has commenced an intensive dialogue with the representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations, political circles and universities, gathered together in a working group of experts composed of both men and women. The mandate of the working group is to develop rules and instruments to promote equality of status between men and women in their professional lives, and to compile examples of enterprises which have succeeded in this respect. One of the points to which the Government attaches great importance, in connection with this working group, is the implementation of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The second component of this programme consists of the preparation of a detailed report on equal remuneration and the economic situation of women which the Government intends to submit to Parliament at the end of 2001 and which will include, among other information, the remuneration levels of men and women in the various economic sectors. The report also has the aim of identifying the principal causes, whether direct or indirect, of wage discrimination between men and women, of examining procedures for the evaluation of jobs, bonuses, wage agreements and other relevant issues.

2.  The Committee would be grateful if the Government would keep it informed of the various activities carried out in the context of this programme, and particularly if it would provide copies of the conclusions and recommendations of the expert group, as well as of the report on equal remuneration and the economic situation of women, which it is to submit to Parliament in 2001.

3.  With regard to the maintenance of "wage categories for light physical tasks" in 26 collective agreements (out of a total of 268), the Committee notes that the Government considers that the problem is now minor, taking into account the fact that in practice this classification concerns only a limited number of men (13,000) and women (21,000) and that the wage gap between this category and the one which immediately follows it is low (2 per cent). The Committee also notes that both Parliament and the Government are of the opinion that it is for the social partners to continue the efforts that they have made to refine the criteria used for the evaluation of unskilled jobs, since collective agreements have tended up to now to place emphasis on the physical strength required for this type of job. The Committee hopes that the Government will decide to encourage the social partners to take into account the case law of the Federal Labour Tribunal which is tending to give more weight to tasks that, although physically lighter, cause mental and nervous tension.

4.  Finally, the Committee notes the statistical data on wages provided by the Government in reply to its general observation adopted in 1998, although it regrets that these relate only to the private sector. It notes the Government’s statement that the wage differences between men and women are not all due to discrimination against women and that some can be explained by the low skill level of the women concerned, their occupation of low-skilled jobs, the concentration of each of the sexes in different branches and sectors, differences in seniority, career interruptions due to family responsibilities, the overtime hours worked, early retirement, etc. In this respect, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to paragraph 100 of its 1986 General Survey on equal remuneration, in which it emphasizes the indivisibility of equality and the fact that many difficulties encountered in applying the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value are intimately linked to the general status of women and men in employment and society. The Committee considers that the objective of eliminating wage discrimination between the two sexes "cannot be reached in a satisfactory way unless national policy also aims at eliminating discrimination on the basis of sex in respect of access to the various levels of employment".