Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Kenya (Ratification: 2001)

Article 1(a) of the Convention. The Committee notes that the Government confirms that the provision of accommodation or an accommodation allowance, and the provision of food, as provided for in sections 31 and 33 of the Employment Act, 2007, come within the definition of “remuneration” in section 2 of the Act.

Article 2. Scope of application of the principle. With respect to the categories of workers excluded from the application of section 5(4) of the Employment Act, 2007, regarding the principle of the Convention, including the police, prison service, armed forces, national youth service and employers’ dependants, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that these workers are ensured equal remuneration for work of equal value by the Constitution. The Committee notes that section 27 of the Constitution promulgated in August 2010 to which the Government refers contains general equality provisions which are important but are unlikely to be sufficient to apply the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value in practice. The Committee asks the Government to indicate how it intends to ensure that the categories of workers excluded from the scope of the Employment Act, 2007, are guaranteed the right of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and to provide information on any measures taken to this end.

Determination of minimum wages and objective job evaluation. According to the Government, the minimum Wage Orders apply to all employees without any distinction based on age, gender, race or colour and therefore there is no discrimination in wages. While noting this information, the Committee must point out that the Convention does not only require that the same minimum rates of remuneration apply to both men and women within the same sector, but also that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is being taken into consideration in the determination of minimum wages. In this regard, the Convention envisages the use of methods of objective job evaluation, which require the examination of the tasks involved on the basis of objective criteria, such as skills, efforts, responsibilities and working conditions, in order to ensure that the tasks considered to be “female” are not undervalued or even overlooked, in comparison with traditionally “male” skills. The Government is therefore asked to supply information on the measures it has been taking to promote the use of objective job evaluation methods, free from gender bias, when minimum wages are determined.

Collective agreements. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that all collective agreements adhere to the principle of equal remuneration and asks the Government to supply extracts of relevant collective agreements reflecting the principle of the Convention.

Article 4. Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee notes that the National Labour Board, which was appointed by the Minister for Labour on 21 November 2008, has held three meetings in 2010 and formed five committees, including one on international labour standards. The Committee asks the Government to supply information on any activity of the National Labour Board regarding equality and non-discrimination in employment and occupation, and in particular the promotion and application of the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value.

Awareness raising and enforcement. The Government indicates that the principle of equality is promoted through labour inspections and awareness-raising activities, such as the dissemination of educational material and workshops, and that there are no judicial decisions on the principle of the Convention. Noting this information, the Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the training and activities of the labour inspectors concerning specifically equal remuneration and to provide a copy of the latest report prepared by the Commissioner for Labour and the Director of Employment, pursuant to section 42 of the Labour Institutions Act, 2007, which was not attached to its report.

Statistics. The Committee notes from the statistics provided by the Government on wage employment by sex and industry, for 2008 and 2009, that women represent less than one third of the total of workers employed and that they are mainly concentred in education services, agriculture and forestry, manufacturing, and trade, restaurants and hotels. In order to assess the application of the principle of equal remuneration in practice, the Committee encourages the Government to take the necessary steps to collect data on the respective levels of remuneration of men and women in the various sectors of the economy and to provide information on any measure taken in this respect and the results achieved.