Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Cabo Verde (Ratification: 1979)

Article 2 of the Convention. Minimum wages. The Committee previously noted the adoption of Decree Law 6/2014 of 29 January on minimum wage fixing, applicable to all employees subjected to the general labour law system. The Committee welcomes the Government’s indication, in its report, concerning the adoption of Decree Law 15/2018 of 19 March 2018, which increases the amount of the national minimum wage as of 1 January 2018. The Government adds that awareness-raising campaigns were carried out by the labour inspectorate concerning the implementation of the new minimum wage by enterprises. The Committee however notes that, in its 2018 concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) was concerned that many employers, especially in the agricultural and domestic service sectors, do not comply with the legal obligation to pay the minimum wage and recommended that the Government strengthen its enforcement of the minimum wage, including through inspections in such sectors (E/C.12/CPV/CO/1, 27 November 2018, paragraphs 28 and 29). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures undertaken to ensure compliance with the legal obligation to pay the minimum wage, in particular in agriculture and domestic work sectors, including on any awareness-raising activities carried out to this end, in collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations. It also asks the Government to provide statistical information on the percentage of women and men who are paid the minimum wage, as well as on any case or complaint of lack of compliance to pay the minimum wage reported or detected by the labour inspectorate and penalties imposed.

Wage-fixing rates. Public sector. The Committee previously noted the adoption of Decree Law 9/2013 of 26 February 2013 on the Career, Posts and Salaries Plan (PCCS) establishing wage-fixing rates in the public sector. The Committee notes the Government’s general statement that the decree has been applied to all public institutions and services with the exception of those that have yet to adopt the necessary internal instruments. It further notes the data forwarded by the Government on the average wage in central administration disaggregated by occupational category, but observes the lack of information disaggregated by sex. Noting the Government’s indication that no distinction on the basis of sex is allowed in the framework of the PCCS, the Committee wishes to point out that the lack of an explicit differentiation between men and women in minimum wage rates is not sufficient to ensure that there is no gender bias in the process of determining minimum wages, and that special attention is needed to ensure that the rates fixed are free from gender bias, and in particular that certain skills considered to be “female” are not undervalued (see General Survey of 2012 on fundamental Conventions, paragraph 683). The Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the implementation of Decree Law 9/2013 of 26 February 2013 on the Career, Posts and Salaries Plan in practice, while specifying the public institutions and services which have not implemented the Decree yet. It further asks the Government to indicate how it ensures that, in the public sector, rates are fixed based on objective criteria free from gender bias, so as to ensure that sectors of economic activity with a high proportion of women is not being undervalued in comparison to those in which men are predominantly employed.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee previously referred to section 16 of the Labour Code which provides that all systems of work description and work evaluation should be based on objective criteria in order to prevent any discrimination and requested the Government to provide information on its implementation as well as on the steps taken to put in place a system of objective job evaluation. Noting the absence of information provided by the Government in this regard, the Committee recalls that effective implementation of the principle of the Convention requires the use of a job evaluation method in order to measure and compare the relative value of different jobs held by men and women, as men and women typically do not perform the same work. Job evaluation involves an examination of the respective tasks involved, undertaken on the basis of entirely objective and non-discriminatory criteria, such as skills and qualifications, effort, responsibilities and working conditions, to avoid the assessment being tainted by gender bias. The Committee further recalls that measures for the objective evaluation of jobs can be taken at the enterprise, sectoral or national level, in the context of collective bargaining, as well as through wage-fixing mechanisms (see General Survey of 2012, paragraphs 695 and 701). In light of the persisting occupational gender segregation in practice, the Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the application of section 16 of the Labour Code by indicating the measures taken to ensure that, in practice, all systems of work description and evaluation are based on objective criteria. It also asks the Government to provide information on the steps taken to promote, develop and implement practical approaches and methods for the objective evaluation of jobs, both in the public and private sectors, based on criteria that are free from gender bias, such as qualifications and skills, effort, responsibilities and conditions of work, with a view to ensure the effective implementation of the principle of the Convention.

Enforcement. The Committee takes note of the two judicial decisions forwarded by the Government on issues concerning equal remuneration. It notes however that the Government does not provide information on the activities of the labour inspectorate in this area. The Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the number, nature and outcome of cases or complaints concerning inequality of remuneration dealt with by the labour inspectorate, the courts or any other competent authorities, specifying the penalties imposed and the compensation awarded, and to provide a copy of any decision issued in this regard. It also asks the Government to provide information on any activity undertaken to raise public awareness of the relevant legislative provisions, the procedures and remedies available related to the principle of the Convention, including by strengthening training activities for labour inspectors on this issue.