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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - New Caledonia

The Committee recalls that it asked the Government to reply in full to its comments. It notes with regret that the Government’s brief report only contains general information on equal remuneration and that it is identical to the report received in 2017, except for the information supplied concerning a conference on gender equality at work held in New Caledonia in April 2018 .

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Wage gap. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, the average wage was 3.2 per cent higher for men than for women in 2015. The report also indicates that the higher the level of post, the greater the wage gap, with male managerial staff being paid on average 17.8 per cent more than female managerial staff. The Committee also notes that, according to the report on women’s employment published by the Mission for Women in 2016, women in the public sector are paid on average 15 per cent less than men. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing recent data on remuneration for men and women and on the gender wage gap in the public and private sectors, if possible according to sector of activity and the hierarchical level of the posts held.

Article 2. Equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Measures to combat the gender wage gap. The Committee observes that the Government’s report merely refers once again to the regulatory framework applicable to equal remuneration for men and women (section Lp. 141 of the Labour Code of New Caledonia) and that the Government once again indicates that it has not taken any measures regarding equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee also recalls that, in its direct request concerning the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), it underlined the continuing precariousness of the situation of women and its negative impact on their education, training and occupational integration, the lack of sufficient action for indigenous women and the lack of information, education and communication activities to promote a change in attitudes towards women and girls. Recalling that proactive efforts must be made to tackle gender wage gaps to achieve results in this area, the Committee requests the Government to take specific measures to promote equal remuneration for work of equal value, particularly in the areas of vocational guidance and training to combat occupational sex segregation, through awareness raising and training to combat social stereotypes regarding “male” and “female” jobs and by establishing schemes to enable both women and men to achieve a better balance between family life and work.

Article 2(2)(c). Collective agreements. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that section Lp. 334-26 of the Labour Code referred to in its report refers to the provisions of collective agreements concerning mechanisms for applying the principle of “equal pay for equal work” and not the principle of “equal remuneration for work of equal value”, as laid down by section Lp. 141-1 of the Labour Code and by the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to amend section Lp. 334-26 of the Labour Code by incorporating the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value.

Article 4. Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee notes that section Lp. 333-2(2°) of the Labour Code provides that “wage negotiations shall provide the opportunity for the parties to examine at the branch level at least once a year … changes to average wages by professional category and by sex, if applicable by comparison with hierarchical minimum wages”. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether and how the issue of equal remuneration for men and women is addressed during wage negotiations and to clarify more generally in what manner it cooperates with the social partners to give effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value established by the Convention.

Awareness-raising measures with regard to the principle of the Convention. The Committee welcomes the holding of a conference on gender equality at work in the South Province in April 2018, which, inter alia, addressed the subject of pay equality with particular reference to the Convention. In order to combat more effectively the underlying causes of pay inequalities, such as prejudicial and stereotypical attitudes towards women or occupational segregation, and to ensure a better application of the principle of the Convention in practice, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to continue its awareness-raising activities by focusing more on equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and ensuring that such activities are reproduced for workers and employers and their respective organizations, labour law enforcement officials and the general public.

Enforcement. Labour inspection. The Committee notes that the Government’s report indicates the penalties applicable for non-observance of the principle of “equal wages for equal work” but that it does not contain information on the work actually done by labour inspectors in this area. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that it is a question of ensuring observance of the principle of “equal remuneration for work of equal value” as established by the Convention and not only for “equal work”. The Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary steps to enable labour inspectors to perform their duties in terms of enforcing the labour legislation as it relates to equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value (section Lp. 141-1 in conjunction with section Lp. 711-1 of the Labour Code of New Caledonia), and to provide information on measures taken in this respect, particularly as regards training for inspectors with regard to equal remuneration issues and the planning of inspection activities according to thematic areas (gender equality, pay equality).