Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Switzerland (Ratification: 1972)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

1. The Committee notes the "Swiss Survey on Wage Structures 1998" and the press release published by the Federal Office for Statistics in November 2001. It notes that, overall, in 2000, the wage gap between men and women continues to persist in both the public and the private sectors with women earning 21.3 per cent less than men (21.5 per cent in 1998). More specifically, it notes that wage differences are lower at federal level (10 per cent) than in the cantonal administration (21.1 per cent), and that wage differences amount to 22 per cent in the private sector. Further, the figures collected for 1998 show that women continue to predominate in part-time work and in the lower salary levels and that salary differences are particularly significant for higher level jobs. The Committee notes that the Federal Administration has developed a new remuneration system through the adoption of the Ordinance of 2 July 2001 concerning employees of the Confederation, implementing the Act of 24 March 2000 concerning these employees. It notes that section 16(1) of the Ordinance of 2001 provides that extra-professional criteria, such as sex, shall not interfere in personnel evaluations or in the determination of salaries. It also notes that, according to the Government, remuneration based on merit will be at the forefront of the new remuneration system. Noting that, in 2003, the first annual report on the new policy (section 21(2)(a) of the Ordinance of 2001) would contain information on the impact of the administrative measures on the new salary system, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply, with its next report, a copy of the annual report as well as information on the impact of the new remuneration system on reducing the wage disparity in the public sector, especially in the cantonal administration.

2. The Committee notes from the 1998 survey that wage differentials are reinforced upon marriage, with the salary of men increasing on average by 4.5 per cent while the salary of women reduces on average by 3.7 per cent upon marriage. It asks the Government to indicate the reasons for the higher wage differentials between married men and women and to provide information on any measures taken to eliminate differential treatment between married men and women with respect to remuneration. The Committee also notes that wage differentials between men and women (especially for the lowest category jobs) are also increasing with age and that this may be partly explained by women’s withdrawal from professional life due to maternity and family responsibilities, and the fact that fewer women than men accumulate more than 20 years of service in the same enterprise. Noting that the Government had launched a campaign to encourage young families to negotiate a more adequate sharing of work and family responsibilities, the Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of the impact of this campaign as well as any other measures taken or envisaged to assist workers with family responsibilities, and on reducing the wage gap between men and women.

3. In reference to its previous comments concerning the case M.B. v. Canton of St. Gallen of 17 May 2000, in which the Federal Tribunal found that, in view of the lack of competition in the labour market, lower pay is justified for teachers of psychiatric nursing than for teachers of technical professions in vocational schools, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that a readjustment of the teaching profession is under discussion and that the establishment of a legal framework at federal level for the health professions would contribute to avoiding different treatment in the allocation of funds to the training of teachers in vocational schools and teachers in nursing. It asks the Government to provide information on any developments in this regard.

4. Further to the above, the Committee notes that section 37 of the Ordinance of 2 July 2001 provides that, in order to determine the starting salary of an employee in the context of the salary scales defined by section 36 of the Ordinance, the competent authority shall take account of the employee’s education, his or her professional and extra-professional experience as well as the labour market situation. It also notes that section 50 of the Ordinance of 2001 provides that, with a view to attracting competent staff and build staff loyalty, an employee may be granted a "labour market allowance" not higher than 20 per cent of the maximum amount of evaluation scale A. The allocation is revised every year and is withdrawn when the conditions for granting it no longer exist (section 17 of the Ordinance of the Federal Department of Finance of 6 September 2001 concerning the Ordinance of 2 July 2001). The Committee draws the attention of the Government to the importance of monitoring "market value" as a criterion for determining rates of remuneration to ensure that its application in practice is free from gender bias and does not operate to disadvantage remuneration levels of women as compared to men. It asks the Government to keep it informed on the application of the abovementioned provisions and to supply information on the extent to which measures have been taken or are envisaged to offset any negative impact that the use of the labour market mechanism may have on the achievement of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value.

5. The Committee notes the various publications, newsletters and awareness raising initiatives organized by the Federal Bureau on Equality between Men and Women, including the list of projects that were granted funding in 2001, the development of a web site on cases of the Federal Tribunal, and the colloquium organized for equality offices established in the cantons in October 2000. It notes that the equality offices have dealt with 120 cases between 1996 and 2000 of which a third concerned equal pay issues. It also notes that, according to the Government, the low number of equal pay cases is partly explained by the fact that equal pay procedures are usually very long and that an appeal to the Federal Tribunal does not necessarily guarantee that compensation will be obtained. In this regard, the Committee notes the comments made by the Swiss Employers’ Union to the effect that they disagree with the reasons given by the Government for such a low number of cases. It asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to increase the accessibility for men and women to the courts and the equality offices, and to continue to provide information on the measures taken to promote the application of the Federal Act on Equality and the advisory services provided on equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value. Please also provide a copy of the decision by the Federal Tribunal, once issued, concerning the appeal by the women home economics teachers in Fribourg, seeking equal wages with their male colleagues.

6. The Committee notes that a report on the implementation of the Swiss Action Plan for Equality containing information on the results of the measures taken by the General Administration to promote equal remuneration was going to be presented to Parliament in December 2002. It asks the Government to supply a copy of the report with its next report.

7. With regard to the development of an econometric supervisory instrument by the Federal Bureau of Equality in the context of the supervision of the Public Contracts Act of 1994 by the bureaux of equality, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that a preliminary version of the supervisory instrument to monitor equal remuneration is being tested in a number of enterprises and adaptations will probably be necessary. Noting that the Government indicates that it will probably be in a position to present the instrument in its next report, the Committee looks forward to receiving a copy of the instrument once finalized as well as information on the implementation of the provisions of sections 6 (supervision) and 8 (concerning equal remuneration) of the Public Contracts Act.

8. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the pilot project to evaluate key qualifications, which can be used for deciding to employ a worker or for determining wages, has never been systematically tested by the Federal Office for Statistics. It asks the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this regard as well as any findings of the pilot project related to the application of the Convention.