Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

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

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

Follow-up to the conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards (International Labour Conference, 98th Session, June 2009)

Article 2 of the Convention. Application of the principle. Legislation and collective agreements. The Committee takes note of the discussion held in June 2009 in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards and the conclusions of the Conference Committee. It notes in particular that the Conference Committee had urged the Government to amend the Labour Code and Act No. 93-09 of 18 January 1993 on the public service so as to give full expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, in both the private and public sectors. In its conclusions, the Conference Committee had urged the Government to examine the causes of the very high remuneration gap that existed between men and women in the country, and to take the necessary measures, including through a broader range of opportunities for education and training, in consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to reduce this gap, including in the informal economy, and to increase women’s opportunities to access a wider range of jobs and occupations, including those with higher levels of remuneration. Finally, the Conference Committee had stressed the importance of reinstating social dialogue between the workers’ and employers’ organizations to give effect to the Convention.

In its previous observation, the Committee had taken note of the comments made in 2008 by the General Confederation of Workers of Mauritania (CGTM), which had emphasized the marginalization still suffered by women in Mauritania, pointing out that their wages were on average 60 per cent lower than those of men. The Government states that the revision of the Labour Code is ongoing and that the Committee’s concerns will be taken into consideration during this process. The Government has also decided to put in place a permanent consultation and social dialogue framework and to take the necessary steps to improve the social partners’ understanding of the principle of the Convention so that it might be fully reflected in collective agreements. In this respect, the Committee notes that the Government requests the Office’s assistance in training the social partners on the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value.

While noting the Government’s commitments and its request for technical assistance, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures, as soon as possible and in collaboration with the social partners, to amend the Labour Code and Act No. 93-09 of 18 January 1993 on public officials to ensure that both these pieces of legislation reflect the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, a principle that extends beyond the principle of “equal pay for equal work”. The Committee asks the Government to provide specific information on legislative developments in this area. It also asks the Government to specify whether the social partners envisage revising clause 37 of the general collective labour agreement of 13 February 1974, which also confines the application of the principle of equal remuneration to equal work.

Application of the Convention in practice. Noting that the Government’s report does not give any information on this point, the Committee, referring to the conclusions of the Conference Committee in this respect, asks the Government to undertake an examination of the causes of the wage discrepancy between men and women with a view to taking the necessary steps to remedy the situation.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.