Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Bulgaria (Ratification: 1955)

Articles 1 to 4 of the Convention. Assessing and addressing the gender pay gap and its underlying causes. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that according to Eurostat data, the gender pay gap in Bulgaria has decreased from 13.9 per cent in 2018 to 12.7 per cent in 2020. It notes however from the National Statistical Institute that the gender pay gap remains high in a number of economic activities including financial and insurance activities (32.5 percentage points), human health and social work activities (27 percentage points), arts, entertainment and recreation (23.1 percentage points), manufacturing (22.6 percentage points), and information and communication (22.5 percentage points). It further notes that, between 2016 and 2020, in 6 out of 18 sectors listed, the pay gap in favour of men widened. The Committee notes from the National Statistical Institute publication “Women and Men in Bulgaria, 2018”, that for all educational levels, the salaries for men are higher than the ones for women (for the same or comparable level of education, within the same sectors and sub-sectors), and that the gender pay gap is highest at the educational level of bachelor’s and master’s degree where the gross monthly pay of women with the same levels of education is 26 per cent lower than men’s. The Committee notes that, in its report for the implementation of the Gender Equality Policy for 2018, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy states the following reasons for the gender pay gap : traditions and stereotypes in the selection of education, which leads to gender segregation of the labour market; delayed career development; longer maternity leave; difficult balance between work and family life; new production technologies and the requirements for continuous vocational training and capacity building, which is a challenge for women who have to combine it with family obligations (see EU Country report, Gender Equality Bulgaria, 2021, page 28). In that context, the Committee notes the adoption of the National Strategy for Promoting the Equality between Women and Men for the period 2021-2030, on December 30, 2020, in which the reduction of differences between women and men in pay and income is indicated as one of the priority areas and key actions include : (1) increasing awareness in society and amongst employers about the gender pay gap, and about educational and professional training and qualification opportunities; (2) the implementation of measures to increase the adequacy of, and reduce gender disparities regarding, pensions; and (3) affirming the role and importance of collective agreements in reducing the gender pay and income gap. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to reduce and eliminate the gender pay gap, in particular through actions to address its root causes and manifestations, including occupational segregation, reconciliation of work and family responsibilities, higher burden of unpaid care and domestic labour done by women, gender stereotypes in vocational training and guidance, and employment, and challenges faced by women who take maternity and childcare leave. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any progress made, and results achieved in realizing the National Strategy for Promoting the Equality between Women and Men for the period 2021-2030 in relation to the gender pay gap.

Articles 1(b) and 2(2)(a). Work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee recalls that section 243 of the Labour Code and section 14(1) of the Protection Against Discrimination Act 2003 provide for equal remuneration for work of value. In addition, it recalls that the Government previously indicated that it applies to work that is “equal in complexity and responsibility with the same level of education, professional qualification and performance” which is therefore too restrictive to give full effect to the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value set out in the Convention. The Committee emphasizes once again that the concept of “work of equal value” must permit a broad scope of comparison. While factors such as skills, responsibility, effort and working conditions are clearly relevant in determining the value of the jobs, when examining two jobs, the value does not have to be the same with respect to each factor – determining value is about the overall value of the job when all the factors are taken into account. In this regard, the Committee wishes to point out that, for the purpose of the Convention, the relative value of jobs with varying content is to be determined through objective job evaluation on the basis of the work performed and is different from performance appraisal, which aims at evaluating the performance of an individual worker in carrying out his or her job. Objective job evaluation is therefore concerned with evaluating the job and not the individual worker. The Committee therefore underlines that factors such as “performance” relate to the performance appraisal of the individual worker rather than to objective job evaluation (for more details see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 673 and 677 and 696). The Committee further notes the repeal of article 14(4) of the Protection Against Discrimination Act, which provided that the remuneration of an employee or worker returning from maternity leave or child-care leave must be indexed at the same rate as the one applied to the other workers. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures taking to amend the legislation so as to ensure that:

• (i)it provides for a definition of “work of equal value” which is based on objective criteria; and
• (ii)addresses situations where men and women perform different work requiring different qualifications and skills, levels of responsibility and efforts and with different conditions of work but that is of equal value overall. It further asks the Government to indicate how it is ensured that women who have taken maternity or child-care leave do not face pay discrimination when they return to work, after the repealing of section 14 of the Protection Against Discrimination Act.

Article 2(2)(b) Minimum wage. Recalling the observation from CITUB that the current legislation sets out no clear methodology for establishing minimum wage rates, and noting that the Government’s report does not provide any information on developments in this regard, the Committee stresses that the setting of minimum wages is an important means by which the Convention is applied, in that a minimum wage system helps to raise the earnings of the lowest paid. As women predominate in low-wage employment, the setting of minimum wages has an influence on the relationship between men and women’s wages and on reducing the gender pay gap (see 2012 General Survey, paragraphs 682-683) . Recalling that special attention is needed in the design or adjustment of sectoral minimum wage schemes to ensure that the rates fixed are free from gender bias, and in particular, that certain skills considered to be “female” are not undervalued, the Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the method and criteria used to establish minimum wages.

Article 2(2)(c). Collective labour agreements. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged, in cooperation with the social partners, to:

• (i)promote the inclusion of specific clauses on equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value in collective agreements, including on the use of objective job evaluation methods; and
• (ii)organize training and awareness-raising activities on the principle of the Convention, in particular the concept of “work of equal value”.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the general statement by the Government that the criteria for labour evaluation when determining labour remuneration are the same for all workers and employees and are determined by collective labour agreements or by internal rules for wages, or by the legally established conditions and procedure for evaluating employees in the state administration regardless of the features under article 4(1) of the Protection against Discrimination Act. The Committee notes that, once again, no specific information has been provided by the Government on objective job evaluation criteria. As indicated above, it wishes to stress that the concept of “work equal value” requires some method of measuring and comparing the relative value of different jobs. There needs to be an examination of the respective tasks involved on the basis of entirely objective and non-discriminatory criteria to avoid the assessment being tainted by gender bias. While the Convention does not prescribe any specific method for such an examination, Article 3 presupposes the use of appropriate techniques for objective job evaluation, comparing factors such as skills, effort, responsibilities and working conditions. Measures for the objective evaluation of jobs can be taken at the enterprise, sectoral or national level, in the context of collective bargaining, as well as through wage-fixing mechanisms. The implementation of job evaluation exercises has been shown to have a measurable impact on gender pay differentials (see 2012 General Survey, paragraphs 695, 701 and 705). In light of the persistent gender pay gaps in a number of economic activities and the limited legal definition of “work of equal value”, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to develop and promote objective job evaluation methods in the public and private sectors, in cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations, indicating how it is ensured that in determining wage rates, the work performed by women is not being undervalued in comparison to that of men who are performing different work and using different skills.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s annexed decisions relating to equal pay of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination (CPD). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on:

• (i)the number and outcomes of equal pay cases examined by the CPD, and the courts ; and
• (ii)the results of labour inspections in relation to unequal pay.