Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Paraguay (Ratification: 1964)

1. In reply to the Committee's previous comments the Government refers once again in its last report to section 230 of the Labour Code which guarantees the implementation of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers. The Committee observes that this section of the Labour Code provides that "... equal remuneration shall be given for work which is equal as regards efficiency, type of work or duration". The Committee recalls that under Article 2 of the Convention the principle of equal remuneration applies not only to equal work, but also to work of equal value. It refers to Article 3(1) of the Convention and draws the Government's attention to paragraphs 138 to 148 of its 1986 General Survey on Equal Remuneration regarding the use of objective appraisal of jobs to ensure that equal remuneration is given for work of equal value, even if the nature of the work is different. (Please refer in this regard to the explanations given in paragraphs 20 to 23 and 52 to 70 of the General Survey.) The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide in its next report detailed information on measures taken or envisaged:

(a)to adopt and apply some technique to measure and compare objectively the relative value of jobs performed where remuneration for such jobs is under the direct control of the Government; and

(b)to promote the adoption and application, in sectors where remuneration is not under the Government's direct control, of some technique to measure and compare objectively the relative value of jobs performed.

2. The Committee also requests the Government to supply information on the activities of the National Occupational Promotion Service in respect of the studies and analyses of jobs referred to in the Government's previous reports.

3. The Committee notes from the Government's report that the Labour Directorate of the Ministry of Justice and Labour oversees the application of the Convention, and that it co-operates with the employers' and workers' organisations in the implementation of the Convention by issuing appropriate directives. The Committee requests the Government to include in its next report detailed information on the measures taken by the Labour Directorate to ensure the effective implementation of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value and in particular with regard to the rates of remuneration higher than the minimum wage rates.