Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - United Republic of Tanzania (Ratification: 2002)

Legislation. The Committee notes the adoption of the Employment and Labour Relations (Code of Good Practice) Rules, 2007, which, inter alia, make provision for the elimination of discrimination at the workplace and the promotion of equality of opportunity and treatment in employment. The Committee further notes that section 5(c) of the Rules provides that the equality plan adopted by the employer under section 7(2) of the Employment and Labour Relations Act, 2004, shall contain plans to eliminate discrimination under which “with regard to job classification and grading, remuneration, employment benefits and terms and conditions of employment, the employer may require an audit to ensure these relate strictly to objective criteria, such as the inherent job requirements”. While noting the information provided under the Government’s report of 2009 under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), that to date only a small number of equality plans have been registered with the Labour Commissioner, the Committee asks the Government to supply information on any measure taken in the context of such equality plans to address wage discrimination and to promote the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee also asks the Government to supply information on the practical application of section 5(c) of the above Rules, including information on any audits undertaken and the results thereof.

Wage boards. The Committee notes that eight wage boards have been in place since April 2006. The Government states in its 2009 report that the boards conducted an investigation into minimum remuneration and other conditions of employment in their respective sectors and made recommendations to the Minister of Labour who issued a wage order. Further to the issue of the wage order and the complaints and strikes that it caused, the Government, after consultation with the Labour, Economic and Social Council (LESCO), contracted consultancy services to conduct an impact assessment study on the wage order and on the whole process of fixing sectoral minimum wages. The Committee further notes that once this study was transmitted to the Minister of Labour, wage boards were able to issue new recommendations which were then submitted to the Minister for further action. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the action taken by the Minister on the basis of the assessment study received and on the new recommendations issued by the wage boards. Furthermore, recalling that minimum wages are an important means of applying the Convention, the Committee asks the Government to indicate how it is ensured that, when wage boards determine minimum wage rates, jobs predominantly or exclusively undertaken by women are not being undervalued in comparison with those undertaken by men. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would provide information on the guidelines to be used by the wage boards, mentioned in its 2007 report as being developed on the basis of ILO standards and the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania. Please also provide copies of the new wage orders once issued.

Collective agreements and cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a few collective agreements have been concluded under the new Employment and Labour Relations Act, 2004. The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate whether and to what extent the principle of “equal remuneration for work of equal value” is reflected in collective agreements and to supply examples of such collective agreements. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to promote the principle in cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations, including measures to raise awareness of the concept of “work of equal value”.

Objective job evaluation and enforcement of the principle of equal remuneration. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Open Performance Appraisal System (OPRAS) method is used in the public service to evaluate jobs and determine the levels of remuneration. As regards the private sector, the Committee notes that according to the Government’s report of 2007 a communication strategy was being finalized at the time, with a view to promoting the development and use of a method of objective job appraisal in the context of collective bargaining and at the enterprise level. With reference to its General Survey of 1986 on equal remuneration (paragraphs 138–152), the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the difference between a system of performance appraisal and an objective job evaluation: while the first aims at evaluating the performance of an individual worker in his or her job, the purpose of objective job evaluation is to measure the relative value of jobs with varying content on the basis of the tasks to be performed, regardless of the worker’s actual performance, using criteria such as skill, effort, responsibilities and working conditions. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication in its report of 2009 that labour officers were not provided with specific training on the role of objective appraisals as a means of compliance with the equal remuneration provisions of the Employment and Labour Relations Act, 2004, and that the Government expresses the need for ILO technical assistance in this regard. The Committee therefore asks the Government to provide information on the methods used or envisaged to measure and compare objectively the relative value of jobs in the private and the public sectors. It also asks the Government to take the necessary measures to provide labour inspectors with specific training and with adequate means and tools in order to be in a position to identify and address discrimination in respect of remuneration and violations of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Government is asked to communicate extracts of inspection reports regarding enforcement of the relevant provisions of the Employment and Labour Relations Act and any relevant judicial decisions.

Statistics. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there is no updated information disaggregated by sex on the levels of remuneration of men and women in the various sectors and occupational groups. The Commission encourages the Government to make every effort to ensure that such statistics are collected with a view to gaining an adequate appreciation of the nature, extent and causes of the existing remuneration gaps between men and women and designing measures to address them accordingly. The Government is requested to provide information on any measures taken in this respect and to communicate whatever information is available on the earning levels of men and women, by branch, economic activity and occupation in both the public and private sectors.

Regretting that the Government’s report contains no information in reply to the its direct request of 2005 with regard to the application of the Convention in Zanzibar, the Committee asks the Government to provide information concerning this territory regarding the following:

(a)   the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value by means of legislation;

(b)   the methods used by the social partners and the Wages Advisory Board to determine rates of remuneration without discrimination based on sex;

(c)   the measures taken by the Government to promote objective job evaluation on the basis of the work to be performed both in the private and in the public sectors;

(d)   the manner in which the labour inspection services supervise and ensure the application of the relevant labour legislation on equal remuneration and the results achieved; and

(e)   the practical application of the Convention, including any statistical data available disaggregated by sex on the remuneration of men and women, by branch, economic activity and occupation in both the public and private sectors.