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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Mongolia (Ratification: 1969)

The Committee notes the observations of the Mongolian Employer’s Federation (MONEF) received on 20 May 2014, as well as those incorporated in the Government’s report, both of which referred to the application of the principle of the Convention. The Committee also notes the observations by the Confederation of Mongolian Trade Unions (CMTU), received on 20 May 2014, which supports the information provided by the Government in its report.

Occupational segregation and gender pay gap. The Committee notes from the extensive information provided by the Government in its report that women continue to be paid at lower levels than men in nearly every area of the economy, drawing particular attention to gender pay gaps in the occupations of skilled agricultural and fishery workers (44.4 per cent) manufacturing, construction, handcraft and associate workers (30.2 per cent), and operators and assemblers of machinery and equipment (23 per cent), as well as the sectors of manufacturing (24.6 per cent), construction (20.8 per cent), and wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles (22.2 per cent). The Committee also notes that the Government has recognized in its report to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that “women mostly work in implementing positions or common professions” while “the employment of men is much higher in highly productive, financially capable, well-paid sectors” (E/C.12/MNG/4, 2 December 2013, paragraph 62). The Committee notes in this respect that the Government refers to the State policy on remuneration adopted by the National Tripartite Committee on Labour and Social Consensus (NTCLSC) in 2012, which provides for the improvement of gender equality, the building of national capacity, and the reduction of inequalities in the distribution of wages in collective agreements and collective bargaining. The Government further indicates that it intends to pursue various goals as part of the Millennium Development Goals-Based Comprehensive National Development Strategy of Mongolia, including enforcing the Law on Promotion of Gender Equality (LPGE). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the practical steps taken towards reducing the gender pay gap, including through the enforcement of legislative provisions on equal remuneration and the implementation of the State policy. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the sensitization programmes and awareness-raising activities carried out to overcome traditional stereotypes regarding the role of women in society and to disseminate a better understanding of the principle of the Convention. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide updated statistical information on the wage levels of men and women in the various industries and occupations in the private and public sectors, and to indicate the corresponding distribution of men and women in these areas.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes that, in response to its request for information on the application of practical methods and approaches used for objective job evaluation, the Government indicates that the recommendation on remuneration for entities (RRE), approved in 2001 by the NTCLSC provides for the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value but contains no specific guidelines on how to apply this principle in practice. The RRE also provides a list of five separate methods referred to as the “ranking method,” the “comparison method,” the “point method,” the “factor comparison method,” and the “decision grouping method”, though no descriptions are provided as to the process required by each method. Noting that the draft Labour Law under elaboration appears to provide for the principle of the Convention, the Committee recalls that the concept of “equal value” requires some method of measuring and comparing the relative value of different jobs, taking into account the respective tasks involved and based on entirely objective criteria to avoid the assessment being tainted by gender bias (see General Survey on the fundamental Convention, 2012, paragraphs 673 and 695). With respect to the suggestion of MONEF for the RRE to include a skill-based evaluation method, the Committee once again recalls the difference between a performance appraisal system and objective job evaluation. While a performance appraisal system seeks to examine the individual performance of workers, objective job evaluation concerns the analysis of the content of a specific job or post (see General, 2012, paragraph 696). The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed explanations of the procedures suggested by each of the methods listed in the RRE including the manner in which it is ensured that they are free from gender-bias, as well as information on how these methods are applied in practice. The Committee encourages the Government to avail itself of the technical cooperation of the ILO in this respect.

Article 2(2)(b). Minimum wages. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that sectoral agreements to increase the minimum wage do not depend on a specific set of criteria or on the predominance of men or women working in the sector. The Committee notes however, from the data provided by the Government, on sector-specific minimum wages that in the health sector, which typically employs a greater number of women, the minimum wage is significantly lower than in those sectors mostly employing men. For example, the minimum wage for the health sector is 30 per cent lower than that which is established for the construction and geology and mining sectors. The Committee therefore reiterates its request for the Government to provide information on measures taken to ensure that agreements to set sector-specific minimum wages do not undervalue jobs predominantly occupied by women relative to those occupied by men.

Parts III and IV of the report form. Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that although no training programs of labour inspectors related to the Convention have been organized, it plans to support better application of the Convention in the future through providing training to judges, lawyers, relevant government officials and the social partners. The Committee asks the Government to provide further detailed information on any training undertaken or envisaged regarding the application of the principle of the Convention. The Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the number, nature, and outcome of complaints related to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value addressed by judicial and administrative bodies.