Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Zambia (Ratification: 1972)

Article 1 of the Convention. Legislation. The Committee recalls that the draft Employment Act (Amendment Bill) defines equal pay for work of equal value as meaning that “an expatriate or Zambian professional with matching qualifications holding similar roles are to be remunerated equally”, which is narrower than the concept of equal remuneration for work of equal value provided for in Article 1(b) of the Convention. Moreover, the definition does not address equal remuneration between men and women. The Government’s report states that the current laws and policies confer equal remuneration to male and female employees across sectors for work of equal value undertaken in a given employment under the same conditions of service. The Committee emphasizes that the concept of work of equal value is fundamental to tackling occupational sex segregation in the labour market, as it permits a broad scope of comparison, including, but going beyond equal remuneration for “equal”, “the same” or “similar” work, and also encompasses work that is of an entirely different nature, which is nevertheless of equal value (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 673). Noting that the Employment Act (Amendment Bill) is still under review, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the final provisions of the Employment Act, will specifically guarantee equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value, and will not be limited to equal remuneration for men and women performing work that is similar or the same, but will also cover work performed by men and women in conditions that are entirely different but nevertheless of equal value.

Earnings differentials between men and women. The Committee notes from the Labour Force Survey 2012 that 15.4 per cent of all employment is in the formal economy and women make up 28.8 per cent of formal economy workers. The Survey findings confirm the persisting vertical and horizontal segregation of men and women in several sectors and occupations and indicate that remuneration levels differ considerably, with women receiving 62.8 per cent of men’s average monthly earnings. The percentage of women in the lowest earning bracket is over double that of men and inversely the percentage of men in the highest earning bracket is almost double that of women. With respect to earning levels by occupation, women managers receive just over half the salary of male managers, and female professionals earn 72.7 per cent of the salary of male professionals. In trades and craft work, women earn a mere 33 per cent of men’s earnings, and in elementary occupations, women earn 69.6 per cent of the salary that men earn in the same occupational grouping. The Committee recalls that wage inequalities often arise due to the segregation of men and women into certain sectors and occupations, often resulting from societal stereotypes on the suitability of certain jobs for men and women. Continued measures are therefore required to improve the access of women to a wider range of job opportunities at all levels to help to reduce inequalities in remuneration that exist between men and women in the labour market (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 713). The Committee also refers in this respect to its comments on the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111). The Committee once again asks the Government, with a view to addressing occupational gender segregation and significant differences in earnings between men and women, to take more proactive measures including addressing occupational gender stereotyping and examining the underlying causes of the gender pay gap covering both the formal and informal economy. Noting that the National Gender Policy is under review, the Committee hopes that it will take into account the need for measures to address the gender pay gap, and asks the Government to provide information on any steps taken in this regard.

Collective agreements. The Government indicates that there is no gender discrimination with respect to remuneration for work of equal value in the collective agreements for the public health sector, building and engineering sector, security services sector, financial institutions and mining sector, and that wage disparities between male and female employees may exist due to more higher paid positions held by men. In order to effectively assess the extent and nature of wage differences between men and women in the context of collective agreements and to determine appropriate measures to be taken to address unequal pay, the Committee asks the Government to take additional steps to collect and provide information on the distribution of men and women in the different grades and wage scales provided for in collective agreements that have been concluded for the public health sector, building and engineering sector, security services sector, financial institutions and mining sector.