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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Comoros (Ratification: 1978)

1. Article 1(b) of the Convention. Principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee notes that the Government omits to provide information in its report with respect to section 97 of the Labour Code and is bound to reiterate the  concern expressed in its previous direct request with regard to section 97, which establishes the principle of equal remuneration under equal working conditions, professional qualifications and output. Referring to its previous comments, it recalls that the principle of the Convention calls for equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value, which also covers situations where men and women, in fact, perform jobs that are different, but are of equal value. The Committee therefore once again asks the Government to consider amending its Labour Code, if it so requests with the technical assistance of the Office, to ensure that the Labour Code sets out the broader principle laid down in Article 1(b) of the Convention.

2. Article 2(1). The Committee notes the Government’s statement that, due to lack of control mechanisms and procedures, it is not possible to ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value in the private sector. The Committee is bound to point out to the Government that wherever a State is not in a position to ensure the principle of equal remuneration, it must promote its application under Article 2(1) of the Convention (see General Survey on equal remuneration, 1986, paragraph 29). The Committee therefore asks the Government to provide detailed information with its next report on promotional measures taken or envisaged to promote the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value in the private sector.

3. The Committee regrets that the Government’s report does not contain a reply to its previous comments and that it contains only general information, which does not enable the Committee to assess the extent to which effect is given in practice to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value, as set out in the Convention. It therefore reiterates its previous request for information on the progress made with regard to the draft decree setting out the guaranteed interoccupational minimum wage (SMIG). The Committee once again recalls the concern expressed in 2000 by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Comoros Workers (USATC), particularly in relation to the private sector, where the lack of a minimum wage leads to the unilateral fixing of wages by employers with no prior negotiation. The Committee hopes that the process of setting the SMIG, taking into account the requirements of this Convention, will be completed as soon as possible. It asks the Government to keep it informed of the negotiations held in relation to the setting of the SMIG and to provide a copy of the decree once adopted.

4. Part III of the report form. Practical application. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that men and women workers in the public sector receive equal remuneration for work of equal value. It asks the Government to provide with its next report statistical information on salary levels in the public sector, disaggregated by sex, so as to enable it to assess the application in practice of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers in the public sector.