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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Lesotho (Ratification: 1998)

Articles 1, 2 and 4 of the Convention. Promotion of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Cooperation with the social partners.  Noting that the Government’ report does not respond to its previous request on this issue, the Committee again asks the Government to take action to specifically promote the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and raise awareness of the means of implementing this principle, such as the promotion of objective job evaluation methods in the private sector, and organize training for workers, employers and their respective organizations. It further reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on any measures taken to promote the inclusion of the principle of the Convention in collective agreements.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. Public service.  The Committee previously noted that the Job Evaluation Report concentrated mainly on grading structure and evaluation results for different job families (134 jobs selected from 1,400 jobs across ministries and agencies) and was implemented through a salary review in 2013 and the upgrading of some positions. It recalls that an Assessment and Development Centre (CAD) has been established in the Ministry of Public Service to ensure that the recruitment process in the public service is based on merit and the candidate’s competency. The Committee notes that the Government merely provides a general statement in its report that men and women have equal opportunities in law and practice, and that there are no specific positions for men and women. The Government also refers to a decision of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in which it decided to raise the salary of a female officer who was paid less than her male counterparts in the Ministry of Mining. The Committee once again asks the Government to provide detailed and specific information on the manner in which the principle of the Convention was taken into consideration in the 2013 salary review. More specifically, it requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the implementation of the job evaluation process in the public service, including the salary review, on jobs mainly held by women and on any gender pay gap. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate if and how the principle of the Convention is taken into account by the CAD, and if there are any studies on differences in the earnings of men and women in the public service.

Statistical information.  The Committee notes from the Government’s 2019 report on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration that efforts are made to develop gender-specific data collection tools (Beijing+25 report, page 69). The Committee also notes the Government’s request for technical assistance. The Committee welcomes the Government’s initiative in this regard and asks the Government to provide any information compiled on the distribution of men and women in the various sectors of the economy in the private sector and their respective earnings levels, in particular in low-paid sectors.