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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Côte d'Ivoire (Ratification: 1961)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Evaluation of pay gap.  In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the breakdown of men and women by sector, both public and private, occupation, and on their respective remunerations. The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government states that information will be provided to the Committee when available. The Committee also notes that, in the National Review on the Implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing +25), the Government refers to the future adoption of several measures to promote gender-specific data collection, including the development of gender-specific national indicators on equality, the institutionalization and systematization of data collection and periodic evaluations, the elaboration of a set of national indicators to monitor the progress of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals’ realization. The Committee further notes that, in 2016, the Government carried out the National Survey on Employment Situation and the Informal Sector (ENSESI 2016) and that women’s participation in the labour market is mainly found in the informal economy. The Committee recalls that, while the principle of the Convention should apply to all workers, the application in law and practice of the principle of the Convention in the informal sector remains a challenge, but that understanding the extent of pay differentials in the informal economy and examining its underlying factors are important first steps in realising equal pay for work of equal value for all, including those working in the informal economy. (General Survey on fundamental conventions, para 665). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on measures taken to ensure that, in the establishment of new methods of data collection and disaggregation and in the undertaking of upcoming surveys, information relevant to the implementation of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value is collected (such as the numbers of men and women disaggregated by sector and occupation in the private and public sectors and their corresponding levels of remuneration, as well as data on the extent of pay differentials in the informal economy). The Committee also asks the Government to indicate the measures taken to use this information to identify remuneration inequalities in the formal and informal economy, and to determine their nature, scope and causes.

Article 1(b) of the Convention. Equal remuneration for men and women workers.  The Committee notes that, in response to its previous request, the Government indicates that, for the moment, no measures have been taken to examine the possibility of modifying the burden of proof to favour workers who allege discrimination, once they have provided prima facie or plausible evidence of the offence. The Committee is therefore bound to reiterate its request that the Government considers examining with the social partners the possibility of providing a shift in the burden of proof.

Articles 2 and 4. Collective agreements and collaboration with the social partners.  The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government reiterates its commitment to ensure that, in the review of the Inter-Occupational Collective Agreement, the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value is formally mentioned. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the advancement of the revision of the Inter-Occupational Collective Agreement of 1997. The Committee also reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the application of section 72.2 of the Labour Code in practice, particularly through the provision of extracts of collective agreements that contain clauses relating to the means of implementing the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value

Article 2(2)(b). Determination of minimum wages. In its previous comments, the Committee had considered that the three criteria adopted for the determination of minimum wages are not in themselves sufficient to ensure that the process is free from gender bias. The Committee takes note of the Government’s clarification that negotiations on minimum wages take place in the Permanent Independent Concertation Commission (CCT), which is a bipartite body, and that its conclusions are afterwards transmitted to the Labour Advisory Commission, a tripartite body, to be endorsed by regulatory action. The Committee recalls that minimum wages are an important means by which the Convention is applied. As women predominate in low-wage employment, a uniform national minimum wage system helps to raise the earnings of the lowest paid, and thus has an influence on the relationship between men and women’s wages and on reducing the gender pay gap. It also stresses that it is important for governments, in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to examine the functioning of the mechanisms for the setting of minimum wages in the light of the need to promote and ensure that the rates fixed are free from gender bias, and in particular that certain skills considered as inherently possessed by women (such as manual dexterity or care delivery) are not undervalued in comparison with skills considered as inherently possessed by men (such as physical strength) (see 2012 General survey on fundamental Conventions, paras 683 and 685). The Committee is therefore bound to reiterate its request to the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that those who set minimum wages have a solid grasp of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value as set out by the Convention, and that, in sectors that employ a high proportion of women, wages are effectively determined on the basis of objective criteria free from any gender bias, specifying the assessment method for jobs and the criteria used.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation.  The Committee notes that, in response to its previous comments, the Government expresses its commitment to inform the Committee if steps are taken to carry out a job evaluation study in the framework of the review of the Inter-Occupational Collective Agreement of 1997. The Committee refers to its request to the Government in relation to Article 2 and Article 4 of the Convention on the future review of the Inter-Occupational Collective Agreement of 1997. The Committee asks the Government to inform additionally on: (i) steps taken to raise awareness about the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value among social partners, in particular as regards the use of objective job evaluation and classification criteria; and (ii) measures taken to promote the integration of objective job evaluation criteria in collective agreements.

Enforcement. Labour inspection.  The Committee notes that, in reply to its previous request for information on the activities of the labour inspection, the Government indicates that the labour inspection promotes respect for the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value when undertaking its work, and that it can also be relied upon by workers who feel they have been discriminated against. The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern at the absence of information on the number of labour inspections, the nature of the violations recorded and the penalties imposed (see CEDAW/C/CIV/CO/4, 30 July 2019, para 41). In this regard, the Committee recalls that the supervision of relevant provisions on non-discrimination, equality and equal remuneration often rests in the first instance with the labour inspection services and therefore highlights the importance of training labour inspectors to increase their capacity to prevent, detect and remedy such instances (see 2012 General survey on fundamental Conventions, para 872 and 875. In light of the above, the Committee invites again the Government to provide statistical information of the number of cases of violation of equal remuneration detected by labour inspectors. It also asks the Government to provide information on any measures or steps taken to ensure that the labour inspection can identify and treat such cases effectively, including through training.