Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Azerbaijan (Ratification: 1992)

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Determination of remuneration and objective job evaluation. The Committee notes that the Government repeats its indication that the work performed is assigned to the appropriate wage level using the wage and qualifications guides laid down by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and registered by the Ministry of Justice. The Committee recalls that the concept of “equal value” requires some method of measuring and comparing the relative value of different jobs, and analytical methods of job evaluation have been found to be the most effective. Whatever methods are used for the objective evaluation of jobs, particular care must be taken to ensure that they are free from gender bias: it is important to ensure that the selection of factors for comparison, the weighting of such factors and the actual comparison carried out are not discriminatory, either directly or indirectly (General Survey on fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraphs 695, 700–701). Noting that the Government’s report does not contain information in this respect, the Committee again asks the Government to describe in detail the method used to determine the wage categories on the basis of the tasks performed, including the criteria used to that end. It also asks the Government to indicate how it is ensured that the wage and qualifications guides of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection are established on the basis of entirely objective and non-discriminatory criteria free from gender bias. Please also clarify whether the “unified pay scale handbook”, referred to in section 57(2) of the Labour Code, corresponds to the wage and qualifications guides mentioned by the Government in its previous report.

Equal remuneration in the public sector. The Committee notes that neither the Government’s report nor the annual statistics “Women and men in Azerbaijan” have information on the distribution of men and women employed in the public sector and their levels of remuneration, which would enable the Committee to better assess the extent to which the Convention is applied in this sector. The Committee again asks the Government to provide the following information:

• (i) the legal provisions governing the remuneration of workers in the public sector;
• (ii) the distribution of men and women, including in posts of responsibility, in the public sector; and
• (iii) their corresponding levels of earnings.

Article 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. In the absence of a reply to its previous request, the Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the activities carried out by the social partners to give effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

Enforcement. Labour inspection. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, over the past ten years, the state labour inspectorate did not find any cases of gender-based discrimination. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on training and awareness raising for labour inspectors, judges, workers, employers and their organizations regarding the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the complaints regarding discrimination in remuneration dealt with by the courts and the state labour inspectorate, including on their outcomes.