Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - France (Ratification: 1953)

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The Committee notes the observations of the French Confederation of Management – General Confederation of Professional and Managerial Employees (CFE-CGC) communicated by the Government with its report, and the Government’s response.

Articles 1 to 4 of the Convention. Underlying causes of remuneration gaps. Action to combat occupational segregation and promote gender balance in employment. The Committee refers the Government to its comments on these points in relation to the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111).

Articles 2(2)(c) and 4. Application of the principle of the Convention through sectoral and enterprise agreements. Collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee recalls the requirement established by the Labour Code to include the subject of remuneration in the collective agreement on occupational equality or, otherwise, in the plan of action setting out the objectives for progression, action and statistical indicators which must be drawn up by enterprises with at least 50 employees, which are otherwise liable to financial penalties. In this regard, it notes the observations of the CFE-CGC according to which: (1) at the enterprise level, difficulties arise in engaging in bargaining on this subject where the enterprise has achieved a sufficient score for its professional equality index; and (2) in no circumstances does the achievement of a sufficient score for the professional equality index dispense the employer from engaging in bargaining on occupational equality, as the legal requirements respecting negotiations on this subject are not conditional upon obtaining a specific score in the measurement of remuneration gaps between women and men. The Committee notes that the Government’s response does not cover collective bargaining on occupational equality, including remuneration. The Committee notes that, at the Social Conference on 16 October 2023, the Government announced the examination of wages in sectors where minimum wages are below the minimum growth wage (SMIC) and a cycle of consultations with the social partners at the beginning of 2024 on the restructuring of sectors. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the content of sectoral and enterprise agreements relating to equal remuneration for women and men; and (ii) the specific measures taken on the basis of these agreements to reduce remuneration gaps. It also encourages the Government to continue its efforts to: (i) disseminate good practices identified at the sectoral and enterprise levels, such as methods for the analysis and evaluation of jobs and remuneration of women and men in the enterprise, numerical objectives, the establishment of specific bodies, the right to explanations concerning remuneration and awareness-raising activities; and (ii) raise the awareness of the social partners concerning the principle of the Convention, and particularly the concept of “work of equal value”, particularly in the context of the forthcoming consultations.

Awareness-raising and training activities. Enforcement. Labour inspection and other measures. The Committee notes with interest the detailed information provided by the Government on the action taken by the labour inspection services during the period 2018-20 to combat inequalities in remuneration (the multiplication of interventions and controls) and on the tools available to inspection personnel (instructions, intervention plans, training, etc.). It also notes that action to support enterprises has been continued, through the provision of training sessions. The Committee welcomes the will displayed by the Government to give priority to combating inequalities of remuneration between women and men. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on: (i) the control and training activities undertaken by labour inspectors in this context, the tools used and the results achieved; and (ii) court rulings respecting the application of the principle of the Convention. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to train enforcement personnel on the principle of equal remuneration for women and men not only for equal work, but also for work of equal value.