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

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

Previous comment

The Committee notes the observations made by the Federal Chamber of Labour (BAK) and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ), which were attached to the Government’s report.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Gender pay gap. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that the gender pay gap has been decreasing continuously for the last ten years but that it remains very high compared to the rest of the European Union (EU) members (second highest, at 18.8 per cent in 2021 (EU average was 12.7 per cent) according to Eurostat). According to a report from the European Commission, this results from a mix of root causes such as gaps in childcare facilities and adequate day care for school children, a very unequal distribution of paid and unpaid work between women and men, and a high rate of part-time work among female workers. Statistics Austria Office notes that 49.6 per cent of them were working part-time in 2021, compared to 11.6 per cent for men (EU averages were 29.5 and 9.3 per cent respectively), and when looking more specifically at active part-time rates of persons between 25 and 49 years with children under 15, the figures strikingly stand at 72.8 per cent for women and 6.8 per cent for men. The Committee also notes the observations made by the BAK as well as the European Commission and the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) regarding the impact of this pay gap on women’s pension benefits (the gender pension gap standing at over 40 per cent) (European Commission, European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination, Country Report Austria on gender equality, 2022, pages 10, 22 and 44; and CEDAW/C/AUT/CO/9, 30 July 2019, paragraphs 32(a) and 37). The Committee notes that the Government refers to various measures adopted to reduce the structural factors contributing to the large gender pay gap, such as training courses to promote the access of women to non-traditional occupations as well as initiatives to inspire more girls to take science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects; special assistance for those returning to work after a career break for family reasons; and women’s career centres to offer individual advice. It also provides examples of measures adopted in the provinces in this regard. In light of the significant gender pay gap in the country, the Committee wishes to stress that, it is important to deal with the persistent underlying causes of pay inequality that still need to be addressed in the country, in addition to the ones already identified above. A comprehensive approach to the reduction and elimination of pay disparity between men and women involving societal, political, cultural and labour market interventions is required. In that regard, the Committee observes that the Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between women and men through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (“EU Pay Transparency Directive”) entered into force on 6 June 2023, and that EU Member States must implement it within three years. In view of the remaining significant gender pay gap, the Committee requests the Government: (i) to step up the measures taken to further reduce the gap (in this regard, it refers the Government to the range of proactive measures taken by member States to implement the Convention and described in its 2012 General Survey on Fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 720-730); and (ii) to provide information on those measures and the results achieved. Please provide information on the transposition of the EU Directive on Pay Transparency into the national legal framework and its implementation.

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