Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Bulgaria (Ratification: 1955)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report.

1. The Committee notes that the Council of Ministers, with Decision No. 484/10 of July 2000, introduced article 243 in the Labour Code, which establishes the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value in accordance with Article 1 of the Convention.

2. The Committee notes the National Action Plan for Employment for 2001, passed by Decision No. 293 of 27 April 2001 of the Council of Ministers, especially the section relating to Pillar IV of the Employment Directives of the European Union - Strengthening the Equal Opportunities Policy. It also notes that in execution of the European Commission Directive for the incorporation of equal opportunities for men and women in every policy and activity of the European Union and the establishment of a national mechanism for ensuring gender equality, in May 2000 the Council of Ministers adopted a regulation, pursuant to which the Council assigned functions related to the application of equal opportunities for men and women, to the Minister of Labour and Social Policy (MoLSP). The Committee asks the Government to indicate if the draft Equal Opportunities of Men and Women Act has been adopted and if the proposed National Council for Equal Opportunities has been constituted as an advisory body under the MoLSP with membership represented by government and non government organizations (social partners and civil unions).

3. The Committee notes the Government’s indication stating that where wages are determined by the State, equal remuneration for men and women is guaranteed for all posts at the same level by Cabinet Decrees Nos. 25/2000 and 18/2000. The Committee also notes that the wages in other spheres of the public sector are determined by collective labour agreements after negotiations between employers and trade unions in the respective enterprises based on the financial conditions in them. The Committee asks the Government to provide copies of the above-referred collective agreements and the actual hourly wages earned by women and men in those sectors, as it requested in the previous direct request.

4. The Committee notes, on the basis of the statistical information provided by the Government in its report, that in the public sector in 1998 women were earning 70.99 per cent of men’s wages while in the private sector women earned an average of 27.45 per cent less than men. The Committee also notes that since 1996 women’s salaries have increased in order to level them with men’s wages, but while in the private sector the increase in that interval has been 9.68 per cent, in the public sector it has only been 2.83 per cent. The Committee notes that although the difference between the overall average wage rate in the private sector for women is less than the average in the public sector, in the private sector, if analysed by industries, the wage gap in some is quite wide. In the hotel and catering industry women’s wages are 48.94 per cent of male wages; in the trade and repair industry 59.03 per cent; in the health and care industry 62.95 per cent; and in the manufacturing industry 71.18 per cent. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to improve the status of women in the labour market and their remuneration levels through measures such as promoting their access to higher level posts, and evaluating objectively remuneration levels in female-dominated occupations. The Committee asks the Government to continue to supply statistical information on remuneration rates of men and women in accordance with its general observation of 1998 on the Convention.

5. Recalling that family responsibilities have been cited as a reason for women earning less than men, the Committee notes that the Government’s report does not provide information on any services provided or envisaged to meet the needs of workers with family responsibilities in the public sector, nor has it indicated in what manner family responsibilities are responsible for women's earning lower average wages. The Committee reiterates its previous request as to whether any studies had been conducted on the impact of family responsibilities on women's earnings and to supply copies of such studies.

6. The Committee notes that no information was sent by the Government relating to the basis for the criteria used in the job appraisals conducted during the collective bargaining process and what methods, if any, are being applied to ensure that such criteria are consistently applied and weighted in a non-discriminatory manner. The Committee asks the Government to send the abovementioned information and to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to encourage the employment of women in non-traditional occupations.

7. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the activities of the National Tripartite Cooperation Council relating to the application of the Convention.