Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Jordan (Ratification: 1966)

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Additional allowances in the public service. The Committee recalls that section 25(b) of Regulation No. 82 of 2013 concerning the Civil Service provides that a family allowance is granted to a married man and in exceptional cases to a woman (if her husband is incapacitated, or if she supports her children or is divorced and does not receive a child allowance for her children below 18 years of age), which constitutes direct discrimination with respect to remuneration contrary to the Convention (see the General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 693). The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that the family allowance does not discriminate on the basis of sex but is paid to the “breadwinner” of the family, whether male or female. In that regard, it wishes to point out to the possibility of allowing both spouses to choose who would benefit from such allowances, rather than starting from the principle that they should systematically be paid to the main “breadwinner”, and only in exceptional situations to the other spouse. The Committee recalls that it has been raising this issue since 2001, and it asks the Government to clarify whether the wording of section 25(b) of Regulation No. 82 of 2013, expressly grants the family allowance to the main “breadwinner”, whether male or female. If the provision presumes that the man is the “breadwinner” and that women are entitled to the family allowance in exceptional circumstances only, the Committee urges the Government to take steps without delay to amend the Regulation and to ensure that women and men are entitled to all allowances, including the family allowance, on an equal basis. The Government is asked to provide a copy of Regulation No. 82 of 2013.

Article 1(b). Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Legislation.  Since 2001, the Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to the need to give full legislative expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. It previously welcomed the recommendations of the legal review undertaken by the National Steering Committee for Pay Equity (NSCPE) and the July 2013 workshop to amend the provisions of the Labour Code of 1996, and its related Interim Act of 2010, recommending equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value - “including work of a different type”, and made reference to the use of objective job evaluation methods to determine whether jobs are of equal value. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that section 2 of the Labour Code has been amended to include the concept of wage discrimination based on sex. The Government indicates that a penalty of up to 1,500 Jordanian dinars (JOD) can be imposed for violations of the provision. The Committee notes with satisfaction that section 2 of the Labour Code (Amendments) Act No. 14, 2019, defines non-discrimination in relation to wages as the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value regardless of gender. The Committee requests the government: (i) to provide information on the application of section 2 of the Labour Code (Amendments) Act No. 14, 2019, in practice, including on the number and nature of violations found by the labour inspectors; and (ii) to indicate how it is ensured that it permits a broad comparison, including, but going beyond equal remuneration for “equal”, “the same” or “similar” work, and also encompasses work that is of an entirely different nature, which is nevertheless of equal value.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.