Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Paraguay (Ratification: 1964)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Occupational segregation and the gender wage gap. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide specific information on the measures adopted with a view to reducing the existing wage gap, and on the measures intended to increase the participation of women in all economic sectors, and particularly in those in which they are under-represented. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that there is a clear difference between the earnings of men and women, in favour of the former. However, it adds that the wage gap between men and women has been decreasing in recent years. The Committee notes that the Government refers to the Permanent Household Survey (2002–16) and observes the findings of the Survey that: (i) the average wage gap between men and women is 25 per cent; (ii) the wage gap is 24.5 per cent between own-account workers, which is the form of work in which most women are engaged (35.4 per cent), and 33.4 per cent for domestic workers, 93 per cent of whom are women; and (iii) the wage gap is 14 per cent between public employees, and 8 per cent between private sector employees. The Government adds that the General Directorate for the Promotion of Working Women, which is under the responsibility of the Deputy Minister of Labour, promotes “wage equality” and encourages women to seek work in non-traditional sectors. The Government also refers to the: (i) National Plan for Equality of Opportunity for Men and Women (2008–17), which envisages the “adoption and/or enforcement of laws to guarantee the rights of women and men to equal remuneration for the same work or for work of equal value”; and (ii) the First Equality and Non-discrimination Plan for the Public Service (2011–14), the objectives of which included the promotion of an equitable wage policy in the public service. However, the Committee notes that the Government has not provided information on the measures adopted within the framework of these plans with a view to promoting the application of the principle of the Convention.

The Committee also notes that the Paraguay 2030 National Development Plan proposes to “ensure equity in income from labour for men and women”. The Committee further notes that Act No. 5777 of 27 December 2016, on the comprehensive protection of women against any form of violence provides, among other measures, that the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security shall implement programmes for the reduction of the wage gap between men and women (section 17). The Committee also notes that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in its concluding observations, expressed concern at the inequitable distribution of domestic and care work between women and men, which forces many women to take low-income jobs in the informal economy (CEDAW/C/PRY/CO/7, 22 November 2017, para. 34). In this regard, the Committee refers to its comments on the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156). The Committee takes due note of the Government’s initiatives and requests it to: (a) provide specific information on the measures taken within the context of the Paraguay 2030 National Development Plan and those adopted under section 17 of Act No. 5777 to reduce the existing wage gap between men and women, including information on any measures intended to address educational and occupational segregation between men and women, and the results achieved; (b) provide information on any evaluation undertaken of the implementation of the National Plan for Equality of Opportunity for Men and Women (2008–17) in relation to the promotion of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and the follow-up action taken; and (c) continue providing statistical information on the remuneration levels of men and women workers, disaggregated by economic sector and occupation.

Article 3. Objective evaluation of jobs. The Committee recalls that in its previous comments it requested the Government to indicate the manner in which it is intended to undertake the objective evaluation of jobs with a view to giving full effect to the principle of the Convention. The Committee notes that the Government refers to Act No. 5764 of 28 November 2016, which “amends section 255 of Act No. 2013/93, issuing the Labour Code, and derogates from section 256 of the Act”, and to Decree No. 7351, of 27 June 2017, adjusting the wages and minimum daily earnings of workers in the private sector. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the adjustment is based on three variables, which include inflation, the cost of living and the needs of the worker. The Government adds that, with the adoption of Act No. 5407, of 12 October 2015, on domestic work, the minimum wage of men and women domestic workers was raised by the executive authorities to 60 per cent of the statutory minimum wage for various unspecified activities (section 10). In that regard, the Committee notes that CEDAW, in its concluding observations, expressed concern that the legal minimum wage for domestic workers is 40 per cent lower than the minimum wage for other workers, which disproportionately affects women, who account for the majority of domestic workers (see CEDAW/C/PRY/CO/7, paragraph 34).

The Committee recalls that the fixing of minimum wages is an important means of giving effect to the Convention. It is therefore important for governments, in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to examine the functioning of the mechanisms for the setting of minimum wages in the light of the need to promote and ensure the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 685). The Committee also wishes to emphasize that the concept of “work of equal value” requires some method of measuring and comparing the relative value of different jobs. There needs to be an examination of the respective tasks involved, undertaken on the basis of entirely objective and non-discriminatory criteria, irrespective of the sex of the worker, comparing factors such as skills, effort, responsibilities and working conditions, and ensuring that skills considered to be “female”, such as manual dexterity and those required in the caring professions, are not undervalued in comparison with traditionally “male” skills, such as heavy lifting. The Committee also recalls that historical attitudes towards the role of women in society, along with stereotypical assumptions regarding women’s aspirations, preferences and capabilities and “suitability” for certain jobs have contributed to occupational sex segregation within the labour market, with women concentrated in certain jobs and certain sectors of activity. These views and attitudes also tend to result in the undervaluation of “female jobs” in comparison with those of men when determining wage rates (see 2012 General Survey, paragraphs 695 et seq.). With a view to giving full effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, the Committee requests the Government to take specific measures with a view to establishing a mechanism for the objective evaluation of jobs from a gender perspective so as to compare different jobs in the public sector, and to promoting such evaluation in the private sector, and to provide information on any developments. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the application of the Convention is promoted and ensured when fixing minimum wage rates. The Committee once again reminds the Government that it can have recourse to the assistance of the Office in this regard, if it so wishes.