Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (Ratification: 1982)

The Committee notes the observations of the Independent Trade Union Alliance Confederation of Workers (CTASI) regarding the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), received on 31 August 2017.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Gender wage gap. The Committee notes that the CTASI indicates that, while a very large number of women have entered the labour market, they are mainly in areas of lower productivity and remuneration. Referring to changes in the earnings of women in relation to those of men between 2005 and 2013 (second half of the year), it adds that, although the figures have not been updated for several years, specialists in this area indicate that the tendency is still for growth. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government in relation to changes in the earnings gap between men and women between the first half of 2012 and the second half of 2016 and in the employment rate between April 1999 and April 2016. The Government indicates that it has an active policy for the promotion of gender equality in the social process of labour. The Government adds that equality in employment is evidenced by a difference of less than 2 per cent in the employment rates of women and men. The Committee notes that, according to the data provided by the Government, the pay gap has been increasing; in the first half of 2012, women received 82.2 per cent of the remuneration received by men, while in the second quarter of 2016, they received 77.9 per cent. This tendency was visible at all levels of economic activity, except the “electricity, gas and water” sector (in which in the same period the figure rose from 91.9 per cent to 135.6 per cent).

The Committee recalls that, in order to be able to address discrimination and unequal pay, and to determine whether the measures taken are having a positive impact, data and research on the actual situation, including the underlying causes, are essential. Gender pay gaps are principally attributable to the following factors: horizontal and vertical occupational segregation of women into lower paying jobs or occupations and lower level positions without promotion opportunities; lower, less appropriate and less career-oriented education, training and skill levels; household and family responsibilities; perceived costs of employing women; and pay structures (see General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 712 and 869). The Committee continues to consider that, in order to be able to evaluate adequately the manner in which the Convention is applied, and also the nature, extent and causes of the gender pay gap, more information is needed on the employment rate, sectors of occupation and remuneration, disaggregated by gender. The Committee recalls the importance of analysing the position and pay of men and women in all job categories within and between sectors (see 2012 General Survey, paragraph 888). Accordingly, the Committee once again asks the Government to adopt the necessary measures to collect and provide statistics and any other information, disaggregated by sex, which would make it possible to evaluate the gender pay gap by sector, clarify its causes and assess trends. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to address the gender pay gap.