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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Uruguay (Ratification: 1989)

Article 3 of the Convention. Wage boards and objective job evaluation. The Committee notes that wage boards are responsible for establishing occupational categories and standardizing requirements for each job. In addition, the central state administration uses the “Job descriptions handbook”, which describes the content, responsibilities and skills for all occupations. The Government also indicates in its report that as part of the scheme for the certification of quality with gender equality, organizations that wish to obtain the quality seal must guarantee that they do not reduce wages as a form of discrimination and are obliged to have a wage policy that is free of gender bias. However, the Committee notes that the Government does not indicate which objective criteria are used to establish occupational categories and does not state whether objective job evaluations have been conducted in order to determine whether the principle of the Convention is applied in practice. The Committee stresses the importance of such evaluations, particularly when marked occupational segregation exists, where jobs traditionally held by women tend to be undervalued. The concept of “equal value” requires some method of measuring and comparing the relative value of different jobs. In order to determine whether the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value is effectively applied, there needs to be an examination of the respective tasks involved, taking account of objective criteria that are free of gender stereotypes, such as skill, effort, responsibilities and working conditions, and comparison has to be made between the various jobs performed by men and women and the wages received. This comparison must be as broad as possible and not be limited to the same establishment or enterprise (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraphs 695 et seq.). The Committee asks the Government to indicate the criteria which are used for determining wage rates for each occupational category and how it ensures that these criteria are free from any gender bias, which results in undervaluation of occupations performed by women. The Committee requests the Government to take specific measures to establish a mechanism for the objective evaluation of jobs with a gender perspective that enables a comparison of different jobs in the public sector and to promote such evaluation in the private sector.

Collective bargaining. The Committee notes the Government’s information concerning the gender equality clauses incorporated in collective agreements signed in the context of the wage boards. The Committee asks the Government to supply information, including statistics, on the impact of gender equality clauses on pay rates for men and women.

Participation of women in the wage boards. The Committee asks the Government to supply information on the participation of women within the wage boards, and on any steps taken by the Government and the social partners to increase such representation.