Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Lesotho (Ratification: 1998)

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 in relevant parts read as follows:

2. Work of equal value. The Committee recalls that article 30(a)(i) of the Constitution provides for the adoption of policies directed to achieving “remuneration which provides all workers as a minimum with fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value without distinction of any kind and, in particular, women being guaranteed conditions of work, including pension or retirement benefits, not inferior to those enjoyed by men, with equal pay for equal work”. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that although no policy had been adopted to promote equal remuneration between men and women in the public or private sectors, it was not aware of any case where women had been offered or paid lower wages than would otherwise be paid to a man for the same job. The Committee draws to the Government’s attention that the principle of equal remuneration of men and women workers as established by the Convention requires the Government not only to promote and ensure equal remuneration for men and women performing the same job, but also for jobs which are different, but nevertheless of equal value. The Committee asks the Government: (1) to indicate whether, under the Constitution, men and women are entitled to equal remuneration for work of equal value as well as for equal or the same work; and (2) to provide information on the application in practice of section 5(2) of the Labour Code Order which refers to the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value, including information on any disputes or cases concerning equal remuneration of men and women dealt with by a labour officer or the labour court.

3. Articles 2 and 3. Public service. The Committee notes the Circular Notice No. 9 of 1998 issued by the Ministry of the Public Service on job evaluation, pay and grading structure for the public service. It notes that the salary structure as annexed in the Circular provides for 12 grades. The Committee notes that point (iv) of the Circular envisages a process of job grading on the basis of the results of a job evaluation system. The Committee asks the Government to provide additional information on the job evaluation system used in the public service, indicating the manner in which it is ensured that job evaluation is carried out without discrimination on the basis of sex, and the progress achieved in this process of job grading. The Committee also asks the Government to make every effort to provide statistical information on the percentage of men and women in the different salary levels in the public service.

4. Private sector. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that no initiative has been taken to promote the inclusion of equal pay provisions in collective agreements. The Committee recalls that Article 2 refers to collective agreements as one of the means to apply the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. Furthermore, the Government’s attention is drawn to Article 3 of the Convention which promotes the use of objective job evaluation methods as a tool to ensure that remuneration is fixed based on objective criteria related to the content of the job. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to seek the cooperation of workers’ and employers’ organizations for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of the Convention, including actions taken to promote the use of objective job evaluation methods.

5. Part V of the report form. Statistical information. The Committee thanks the Government for supplying a copy of the Labour Force Survey 1999 and the 1996/1997 Employment and Earnings Survey carried out by the ILO and UNDP in cooperation with the Government which include statistical information on the earnings of men and women. The Committee notes from the Labour Force Survey that the percentage of women in the lowest monthly earning groups was considerably higher than that of men. The Employment and Earnings Survey indicates that women earned only 45 per cent of men’s average monthly earnings in the private sector. This ratio was 80 per cent in the parastatal sector and 83 per cent in the public sector. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to address the existing gender wage gap particularly in the private sector. The Government is also requested to provide the Committee in its next report with any updated statistical information on the earnings received by men and women, as far as possible in the form set out in the Committee’s 1998 general observation.