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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Madagascar (Ratification: 1962)

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report.

1.  The Committee notes the draft amendment to the Labour Code attached to the Government’s report. The Government indicates that the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value is incorporated in this draft text. However, the Committee notes that the wording adopted for section 55 of the draft text, "for the same vocational qualifications, the same job and for work of equal value, the wage shall be the same for all workers irrespective of their origin, colour, national extraction, sex, age and status under the conditions set out in the present chapter", appears more restrictive than the Convention. The comparison of the value of work, within the meaning of the Convention, is not necessarily at the level of the work performed in the context of two identical jobs, but more at the level of jobs which are not identical, but of comparable value, which presupposes an objective appraisal of the content of the two jobs. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether section 55 covers jobs which are different, but of the same value.

2.  The Committee notes with interest the first reports on the project carried out in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the ILO, consisting of studies and surveys designed to analyse the content of jobs in four sectors, namely agriculture, agro-food, construction and public works. The Committee notes that these surveys could usefully act as a basis for an evaluation of jobs and the determination of appropriate wages for them, and it hopes that the Government will extend these studies to other sectors. The Committee notes that the Government is requesting the assistance of the ILO in this respect.

3.  The Committee notes that minimum rates of remuneration are determined by decree for each occupational category, after consulting the social partners, and taking into account the value of the index per sector, which serves as a basis for the determination of the basic monthly minimum wage. The Committee notes that the index scale, which the Government indicated that it had attached to its report, was unfortunately not received, and it asks the Government to provide a copy with future reports, as well as copies of the decrees determining the minimum rates of remuneration. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the machinery for the determination of wages covering workers who are governed by specific conditions of service which are different from the Labour Code, namely officials governed by the specific conditions of service of public establishments and services, or by the Merchant Marine Code.

4.  The Committee notes the Government’s statement that at the level of the enterprise the employer may raise the remuneration rate determined by decree, thereby giving rise to a difference between the rates of wages for men and for women. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to its obligation under Article 2 of the Convention to ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration, particularly where it has the legal authority to do so, which is the case where the legislation sets forth the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex in the determination of wages. The Committee therefore asks the Government to provide information on the methods by which it supervises the application of the Convention in practice. The Government also states that section 64 of the Labour Code does not prohibit wages being different for each worker as a function of their output. A difference of this type would not be contrary to the principle of the Convention, provided that it did not give rise to systematic discrimination between men and women.

5.  The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the activities of the National Employment Council established under the Ministry of Labour, and particularly on whether it is participating in the abovementioned project of studies and surveys of jobs.