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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Lithuania (Ratification: 1994)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Assessing and addressing the gender pay gap. Referring to its previous comments where it noted that since 2011 the gender pay gap had been increasing regularly, the Committee notes, from 2020 Eurostat data, that the gender pay gap in unadjusted form (the difference between the average gross hourly earnings of men and women expressed as a percentage of the average gross hourly earnings of men) decreased from 15.2 per cent in 2017 to 14 per cent in 2018. It further notes, from the statistical information provided by the Government, that, in 2018, the gender pay gap was estimated to be 14.1 per cent in the public sector and 14.2 per cent in the private sector. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that the Programme on National Progress for Lithuania for 2014–2020 sets as a specific objective the reduction of the gender pay gap to 7 per cent by 2030. The Government adds that, to this end, it plans to continue the implementation of the measures identified in the Action Plan 2018–2021 for the Implementation of the National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men 2015-2021, namely by: (1) conducting surveys on wage differentials and disseminating their results; (2) organizing awareness-raising campaigns and educational and informational events, including information seminars for target groups (social partners, media, policymakers) on gender pay and pension gaps and their causes in order to resolve issues related to market segregation; and (3) conducting thematic reviews, including pay audits, in order to increase pay transparency and present their results to the Tripartite Council. The Committee further notes the Government’s statement that it will continue to address sectoral and occupational gender labour market segregation. In that regard, the Committee notes, from the statistical information provided by the Government, that, in 2018, women were earning less than men in all types of activities except transport, and storage and construction. The largest gender pay gaps were observed in the financial and insurance sector (37.3 per cent), information and communications (27.8 per cent), human health care and social work (26.9 per cent) and manufacturing (24.8 per cent). In 2018, the average gross hourly earnings in industry, construction and services (excluding public administration, defence and compulsory social insurance) was estimated at €4.95 for women and €5.75 for men. The Committee further notes that in 2017 while women represented 77.1 per cent of the civil servants (excluding statutory), their remuneration was on average 10.3 per cent lower than those of men. The Committee notes that, according to the 2019 European country report on gender equality, the difference between men’s and women’s earnings is largely explained by the concentration of women in low-paid sectors and in certain categories of occupations. According to this report, more recent studies also confirmed that differences in the salaries of men and women are based on unjust and unfair setting of salary rates without considering most of the internal and external factors. Employers are more likely to assign men to more responsible and better-paid job positions, although the educational indicators of women are higher than those of men in today’s society (page 16). The Committee further notes that, in their recent concluding observations, several United Nations (UN) treaty bodies expressed concern about the persistent gender pay gap which results in lower levels of pension benefits and salaries in traditionally female-dominated occupations (CEDAW/C/LTU/CO/6, 12 November 2019, paragraph 36; and CCPR/C/LTU/CO/4, 29 August 2018, paragraph 15). Welcoming the recent downward trend observed in the gender pay gap, the Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts and to provide information on the concrete measures and activities undertaken (in the framework of the Action Plan 2018-2021 for the Implementation of the National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men 2015-2021 or otherwise) to address the gender pay gap, both in the public and private sectors, in particular by addressing occupational gender segregation and promoting women’s access to jobs with career prospects and higher pay. Recalling that section 23(2) of the Labour Code provides that an employer who has more than 20 employees on average must submit to the work council and the trade union, at least once a year, updated information, disaggregated by sex and occupation, on the average pay of employees (except for managerial positions), the Committee asks the Government to provide statistical information on the earnings of men and women, disaggregated by economic activity and occupation, both in the public and private sectors.

Articles 3 and 4. Objective job evaluation. Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. Referring to its previous comments where it noted that, as a result of a survey conducted in 2015 on the implementation of the methodology for the assessment of jobs and positions, the Tripartite Council suggested an updating of the 2005 methodology, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that such methodology has not been reviewed. The Committee recalls that: (1) section 26(2)(3) of the Labour Code provides that an employer shall use uniform job evaluation criteria; (2) section 140(3) provides that remuneration systems are determined by collective agreement or, in the absence of such agreement (in workplaces with an average number of at least 20 employees) that it must be approved by the employer after information and consultation procedures, and be accessible to all employees; and (3) section 140(5) provides that the remuneration system must be designed in such a way as to avoid any gender discrimination or discrimination based on other grounds. It notes the Government’s statement that out of the 259 collective agreements currently in force, only 10 collective agreements contain provisions providing that companies shall ensure fair and competitive wages for all of their employees and avoid any discrimination, in particular on the ground of sex. The Committee observes the lack of information on whether such instruments contain specific provisions on remuneration systems. In that regard, the Committee notes that, according to the 2019 European country report on gender equality, the remuneration systems generally lack transparency as: (1) wages are usually set by individual agreement and not by a collective agreement; and (2) individual wages belong to the sensitive data protected by statutory or contractual confidentiality clauses (page 18). As regards collective agreements, the Committee notes that the Government refers to the implementation, from 2017 to 2020, of the project “Model of Cooperation between Trade Unions and Employers in Developing Social Dialogue” which aims at enhancing social dialogue between employers’ and workers’ organization, in order to produce methodological measures for collective bargaining. In light of the persistent gender pay gap, the Committee urges the Government to provide information on the application of sections 26(2)(3) and 140(3) and (5) of the Labour Code in practice, including by indicating how it is ensured that remuneration systems are based on objective job evaluation methods that are free from gender bias. It further asks the Government to provide information on: (i) any measures taken or envisaged to promote wage transparency; and (ii) any steps taken, in cooperation with the social partners, to promote the principle of the Convention in branch, territorial and enterprise negotiations, and ensure that work in sectors and occupations in which women are predominantly employed is not being undervalued. The Committee again asks the Government to provide relevant extracts of collective agreements containing provisions that reflect the principle of the Convention.

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