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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Hungary (Ratification: 1956)

Article 1 of the Convention Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee recalls that the Labour Code sets out the general principle that “in connection with employment relationships, such as the remuneration of work, the principle of equal treatment must be strictly observed” (section 12(1)) and “the equal value of work for purposes of the principle of equal treatment shall be determined based on the nature of the work performed, its quality and quantity, working conditions, the required vocational training, physical or intellectual efforts expended, experience, responsibilities and labour market conditions” (section 12(3)). Despite a reference to “the equal value of work”, it appears that the Labour Code does not explicitly provide for an obligation to pay men and women equal remuneration for work of equal value but seems to refer only to the principle of equal treatment in remuneration. In addition, in its report, the Government refers to “equal pay for equal work”, which is more restrictive than “equal remuneration for work of equal value”. The Committee welcomes the discussion by the National ILO Council in September 2013 of the Government’s report, during which the issue of specifying the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in the law (Labour Code or Equal Treatment Act) was discussed and supported by the workers’ organizations. Noting that an evaluation of the implementation of the Labour Code is being conducted, the Committee asks the Government to consider, in this context, amending the Labour Code to explicitly provide for equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value and to clarify that work of equal value is to be determined with respect to the tasks to be performed on the basis of objective criteria.

Gender pay gap and measures to address such gap. The Committee notes from the statistics provided by the Government that in 2012, the monthly average salary of women was 83.5 per cent of men’s. The Government indicates that the gender pay gap has grown to a certain extent in recent years. According to the Government, wage differentials are mainly due to the fact that women are concentrated in low paid sectors and jobs, such as health care, education and services, and the lower number of women in management positions. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the wage gap for women without children is around 8 per cent whereas it increases to 25 per cent for women with two or more children. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken to address the underlying causes of the gender pay gap, such as horizontal and vertical occupational gender segregation and the need for men and women to reconcile work and family responsibilities. The Committee reiterates its request for information on the implementation and use of the e-Wage Barometer and the Salary Checker, developed in the framework of the “Equal pay for equal work” project (H/005 (HU-06)), and their impact on the reduction of the gender pay gap. Please provide statistical information on the distribution of men and women and their respective earnings in the public and the private sectors.

Article 2. Minimum wages. The Committee asks the Government to indicate how it is ensured that, in determining minimum wage rates, the female-dominated occupations are not undervalued in comparison with those undertaken by men who are performing different work which is nevertheless of equal value.

Collective agreements. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that 18.3 per cent of the collective agreements in the private sector and 17.2 per cent in the public sector concluded or modified from 1 June 2011 to 31 May 2013 contain provisions concerning women. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether such collective agreements explicitly provide for equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value and to consider including such provisions in the collective agreements concluded in the public (institutional sector).

Article 3. Determination of work of equal value. Objective job evaluation. Private sector. The Committee recalls that pursuant to section 12(3) of the new Labour Code, “the equal value of work for the purposes of the principle of equal treatment shall be determined based on the nature of the work performed, its quality and quantity, working conditions, the required vocational training, physical or intellectual efforts, experience, responsibilities and labour market conditions”. The Committee notes that during the discussion within the National ILO Council, the workers’ organizations pointed out that the “labour market conditions” should not be among the factors to be taken into consideration for the determination of equal value since it does not relate to the nature of the work to be performed. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the reference to the “labour market conditions” is intended to address the differences in employment and unemployment between the regions and therefore the different wage rates. The Committee recalls that the Convention does not require the abolition of differences in the general wage level between various regions where such differences apply equally to men and women. The Committee also recalls that determining whether jobs are of equal value requires some method of measuring and comparing the relative value of different jobs, normally through objective job evaluation and that such evaluation is made through analysing the content of the job on the basis of objective factors such as skills/qualifications, effort, responsibilities and working condition. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote, in collaboration with workers’ and employers’ organizations, the development and use of job evaluation methods based on objective criteria, with a view to ensure that jobs that are mainly occupied by women are not being undervalued in comparison with jobs in which men are predominantly employed.

Objective job evaluation. Public sector. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that in order to promote the objective evaluation of work, the personal performance review system of public service officers is regulated by the Public Officers Act (Act CXCIX of 2011) and Government Decree 10/2013 on the basis of the following principles: regular evaluation; reflection of specialties of the organization; simplification of evaluation procedure; increased transparency and switching between careers. The Committee notes that the Government seems to refer to performance appraisal which aims at evaluating the performance of an individual worker in carrying out his or her job, whereas objective job evaluation is to measure the relative value of jobs with varying content on the basis of the work to be performed. Objective job evaluation is concerned with evaluating the job and not the individual worker. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to develop and use job evaluation methods based on objective criteria, with a view to ensuring that positions mainly held by women are not being undervalued in comparison with positions mainly occupied by men.

Article 4. Cooperation with social partners. The Committee asks the Government to provide specific information on the cooperation with the employers’ and workers’ organizations for the purpose of giving effect to the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value.

Parts III and IV of the report form. Enforcement. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the judicial decisions made on the basis of the former Labour Code and other regulations. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that following an amendment to the Labour Inspection Act of 1996, which entered into force in 2012, the competence of the Labour Inspectorate no longer covers compliance with equal treatment provisions which is now entirely under the responsibility of the Equal Treatment Authority (EBH). The Committee however considers that labour inspectors, who have regular access to workplaces, workers and employers and to information regarding wages, have a crucial role to play in preventing, detecting and addressing inequalities in remuneration between men and women and in promoting equal remuneration for work of equal value which is of a different nature than that of the EBH, and complementary thereto. The Committee asks the Government to ensure the EBH is allocated sufficient means and its capacity adequately strengthened to address effectively inequalities in remuneration and to ensure compliance with the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal, and to provide adequate access to the complaints mechanism, assistance and protection of complainants. The Government is requested to continue to provide information on the preventive and enforcement activities of the EBH with respect to the principle of the Convention, including the number of cases dealt with and their outcome. Please also continue to provide information on any cases of unequal remuneration dealt with by the courts, including sanctions imposed and remedies provided.