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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Saudi Arabia (Ratification: 1978)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Assessing and addressing the gender pay gap and its underlying causes. The Committee welcomes the detailed statistics provided by the Government regarding the average monthly wage for salaried workers (15 years and above) classified according to the main groups of occupation, nationality and gender in addition to the economic participation rates of the population (15 years and above) according to gender, and nationality for the years 2014–16. The Committee notes from more recent labour statistics (fourth quarter 2018) available on the website of the General Authority for Statistics of Saudi Arabia, that in the “private establishments sector” the average monthly wage of Saudi women workers (5,702 Arabian Riyal (SAR)) represented 75.5 per cent of the average monthly wage of Saudi men workers (SAR7,549); the gender wage gap was therefore 24.5 per cent in favour of men. In the “governmental” sector, the gender wage gap for nationals was 6.6 per cent in favour of men. The Committee further notes that taking into consideration all sectors, the monthly wage of Saudi women workers (SAR9,425) represented 89.8 per cent of the average monthly wage of Saudi men workers (SAR10,493), with a gender wage gap of 10.2 per cent. As far as non-Saudi workers are concerned, the overall gender wage gap was 13.6 per cent. The Committee would like to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that wage discrimination cannot be tackled effectively unless action is taken simultaneously to deal with its sources and that pay inequality can be due to various factors or a combination thereof: 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 on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraphs 712 and 714). With a view to addressing the gender pay gap effectively, the Committee requests the Government to identify the nature and extent of wage disparities and analyse its underlying causes, and adopt the necessary measures to address these causes. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to that effect and also to indicate whether pay structures have been established, according to a system of job classification, at the national level for both Saudi and non-Saudi workers. In the context of the current active policy to increase women’s participation in wage employment referred to in the Government’s report, the Committee further requests the Government to continue to collect and provide statistical data on the wages of men and women workers at all levels and to closely and regularly monitor the gender wage gap in all sectors of the economy, in particular the private sector.

Promoting and enforcing the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that Order No. 2370/1 of 18 September 2010 provides that “any discrimination in wages shall be prohibited between male and female workers for work of equal value”. The Committee would like to recall that in paragraph 710 of its 2012 General Survey, it indicated that giving legislative effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is important, but not sufficient to achieve the goal of the Convention. Some of the proactive measures identified by the Committee in its General Survey include the adoption of codes of conduct, pay equity councils, pay valuation guides, the modernization of public personnel classification schemes, undertaking job evaluation exercises, undertaking surveys to identify areas of wage differentials and granting pay equity benefits to compensate for past pay differentials based on sex, and the issuing of wage guidelines. The Committee also recalls that the concept of “work of equal value” – which goes beyond the same or similar work – 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 to avoid the assessment being tainted by gender bias and the undervaluation of tasks traditionally performed by women. As far as enforcement is concerned, the Committee notes from the Government’s report that no discrimination in wages between men and women have been detected during labour inspections nor during the reviews of wages in the framework of the Wage Protection Programme currently in force. In this regard, the Committee would like to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that the lack of complaints could be due to the lack of awareness of rights, the absence of practical access to procedures or the fear of reprisals (see General Survey, 2012, paragraph 870). The Committee asks the Government to take the necessary steps to reinforce the understanding of the concept of “work of equal value” among workers, employers and their organizations, and public officials, including labour inspectors and judges. It further asks once again the Government to ensure that workers can efficiently avail themselves of their right to non-discrimination in wages for work of equal value pursuant to Order No. 2370/1, including through the development and use of appropriate objective job evaluation methods. The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken in this regard and to continue to provide information on any case of non-compliance detected by labour inspectors or complaints of unequal remuneration submitted to them or to a court, and the outcome thereof.