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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (Ratification: 1982)

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

1. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the recently created Supreme Justice Tribunal, formerly the Supreme Court of Justice, has not issued any ruling concerning the interpretation of sections 130 and 135 of the Organic Labour Act of 1997 and that, consequently, the previous interpretative rulings retain their full binding force. The Committee asks the Government to send copies to the Office of any rulings which change the current case law.

2. With regard to its previous comments concerning the wording of sections 130 and 135 of the Organic Labour Act of 19 June 1997, the Committee notes that the Government has not taken any measure to promote the objective of the appraisal of jobs on the basis of the work to be performed and to ensure that criteria such as efficiency, productivity and capacity are not applied in a discriminatory manner which violates the principle set out in the Convention. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the 1986 General Survey on equal remuneration, and particularly paragraphs 138-152, and hopes that the Government will take the appropriate measures to promote the objective appraisal of jobs on the basis of the work to be performed, through the adoption of analytical techniques for measuring and objectively comparing the relative value of the work performed, and that it will continue to provide information in this respect.

3. The Committee notes that the Government has still not implemented the measures recommended in May 1993 in the report of the Committee established by the Governing Body (doc. GB.256/15/16) to examine the representation made by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers and Associations of Commerce and Production (FEDECAMARAS), under article 24 of the Constitution of the ILO. The Government states that measures to prevent the establishment of any differentiation on grounds of sex between the benefits paid by employers to men and women workers who adopt children or become adoptive parents for the purposes of adoption can only be taken when the labour legislation is reformed which, according to the Government, will occur in the near future. The Committee hopes that the Government will renew its efforts to take the necessary measures to ensure that in the near future the above reforms are carried out and that it will continue providing information on the above process.

4. The Committee notes Decree No. 892 of 3 July 2000 fixing the national minimum wage in the public and private sectors. It notes the importance of minimum wages in contributing to the elimination of the wage differentials which can arise between men and women workers on grounds of sex. The Committee notes the Government’s statement to the effect that the National Costs, Prices and Wages Board has ceased operation, and that the Government is not overlooking the possibility of establishing dialogue with the various categories affected with a view to reactivating the above Board as soon as possible. The Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on the progress achieved in reconvening the National Costs, Prices and Wages Board, as well as information on the practical measures that are taken by other bodies with a view to determining wages and the measures that are being adopted to promote the application of the Convention.

5. In its previous comment, the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the number of inspections carried out in relation to the application of the Convention in view of the Government’s statement in previous reports that the application of the Convention was entrusted principally to labour inspectors. The Committee trusts that information will be provided in the next report on the number of inspections and the methods used by inspectors, the number of violations reported, the measures adopted and, where appropriate, the penalties imposed.