Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Denmark (Ratification: 1960)

With reference to its previous direct requests, the Committee notes the information supplied in the Government's report.

1. It notes with interest the amendments to the Equality of Treatment Act which strengthen the role of the Equal Status Council to allow it to inspect enterprises in relation to equal pay cases, as well as the amendments to the Equal Remuneration Act which introduce: (1) the right to claim equal pay with a male predecessor in the same job; (2) a clarification of the criteria for determining the value of the work; (3) the reversal of the burden of proof onto the employer who has to prove that the dismissal of an employee who had claimed equal pay was not due to this claim; and (4) the reversal of the burden of proof on to the employer who has to prove that a difference in pay is due to the work being of a different value. The Committee would like to receive information on any inspections carried out by the Council and information on the practical impact of the reversal of the burden of proof, for example in arbitration and court cases.

2. The Committee notes from the information supplied on the equal pay project being undertaken by the Equal Status Council that it is composed of three elements: (1) identifying the factors affecting wage determination in so far as they maintain the wage gap between the sexes; (2) establishing better statistical data on equal remuneration; and (3) studying the legal enforcement carried out by the Equal Status Council. Noting that the final report on the first part of the project will be published in early 1994, the Committee asks the Government to supply a copy of it with its next report as well as further information on the outcome of the study of the Equal Status Council.

3. Regarding public sector individual wage supplements, the Committee notes the information provided on how these are granted and particularly the trends in the use of the local pay pools. According to the Government, the granting of supplements to chief executives has not disadvantaged women; but women in the municipal sector only receive a small amount of the local pay supplements in relation to their percentage of the total staff. It also notes the policy in the state sector, emphasizing flexibility and decentralization as main principles in the management of the pay policy and the emphasis given to ensuring that decentralized pay fixing does not lead to inequality in remuneration due to sex-related factors.

The Committee would like to receive a copy of the Guide on Local Pay and Remuneration of Chief Executives from 1993 mentioned in the report, as well as information on any further steps taken to promote equality in remuneration in the implementation of these principles and statistics on the granting of wages and supplements from local pay pools.

4. The Committee notes with interest that, according to the national agreement, as from 1993, individual pay shall be fixed taking account of the rules of the Equal Remuneration Act and that the worker-employer "Cooperation Agreement" has led to the publication of an equality brochure and equal treatment initiatives in the Danish Employers' Federation. It also notes that the principle of equality in remuneration has been incorporated in two recent collective agreements. It asks the Government to continue to provide information on the efforts made to promote equality in remuneration in the conclusion of collective agreements.