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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Nicaragua (Ratification: 1967)

Article 2 of the Convention. Application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. In its previous comments the Committee took note of observations of the Trade Union Unification Confederation (CUS) according to which the Ministry of Labour does not monitor compliance with the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value and, further, in the health sector women doctors are paid less than their male colleagues. The Committee notes that in its reply, the Government states that the Ministry of Labour fulfils its obligation to oversee women’s rights in accordance with the provision of the law that “men and women shall receive equal remuneration for equal work when their conditions of work are the same”. The Government refers to Wage Regulation Decree No. 19 2007, which regulates the remuneration of public servants of both sexes, on the basis of job complexity, and Act No. 648 on Equal Rights and Opportunities, which lays down the principle of equal pay for equal work in keeping with work experience, academic qualification, level of responsibility and responsibility of the position. The Committee nonetheless points out that in its previous comments it noted that the Regulation to the Act on Equal Rights and Opportunities (Decree No. 29-2010 of 28 June 2010), which applies to the public and the private sectors, refers to the principle of equal pay for work of equal value (section 2) and to equal pay for work of equal value and equality of conditions (section 18). In those comments the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the manner in which the principle was applied in practice. The Committee points out in this connection that the concept of “work of equal value” lies at the heart of the fundamental right of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and the promotion of equality. The principle of the Convention goes beyond equal remuneration for equal work or work done in the same conditions since it also encompasses jobs that are of an entirely different nature, but that are nevertheless of equal value (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 673). The Committee asks the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the principle of the Convention is applied fully in practice, and to provide information on the implementation and practical effects of the Regulation to the Act on Equal Rights and Opportunities, particularly sections 2 and 18. The Committee will examine this matter and the other issues raised in its previous direct request together with the Government’s regular report due in 2014.