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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Japan (Ratification: 1967)

With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government's report and the information submitted to the Conference Committee in 1993.

1. In its observations of 1992 and 1993, the Committee summarized the dialogue it has had with the Government over a number of years concerning the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. Essentially, the Committee has sought information on the effect given to this principle by the implementation of section 4 of the Labour Standards Act, 1947, which prohibits employers from discriminating between women and men "concerning wages by reason of the worker being a woman". The Committee has noted that this stipulation (violations of which may be met with penal sanctions) has been implemented through periodic inspections by labour inspectors and the provision of guidance to employers. In order to ascertain whether the national legislation is interpreted broadly enough to comply with the principle of the Convention, the Committee has requested the Government to indicate the measures taken to evaluate and compare the value of the different work performed by men and women on the basis of objective criteria.

2. While no information was provided on this matter, the Government had furnished the results of wage surveys undertaken by the Ministry of Labour. On the basis of one survey of 1988, the Committee had noted that, while there had been a narrowing of the differential in the starting salaries of male and female graduates of high schools and universities, women's average monthly cash earnings were about 60.5 per cent of those of men. From information supplied in the reports of the Government, the Committee had observed that two primary reasons appeared to account for the persistence of an important wage differential in average earnings and for the widening of the wage differential in relation to the age of women workers: the first being the seniority wage system, under which the employee's pay rises with the length of service in the same enterprise; and secondly, the fact that women are concentrated in lower paid jobs and are not accorded equal employment opportunities.

3. The Committee had recalled an earlier statement of the Government indicating that a change from a seniority wage system to one based on job content would promote the principle of equal remuneration for men and women by reducing the difference in earnings due to the shorter average length of women's service. It had accordingly requested information on the extent to which an objective appraisal of jobs - within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention - might be introduced in the context of the present system, so that the value of the different jobs undertaken by men and by women might be compared in terms of their actual content or requirements on the basis of non-discriminatory criteria. The Committee noted that, according to the Government, there was no national consensus that the jobs performed mainly by women are given an unreasonably lower value in terms of their content than jobs performed mainly by men, on account of subjective value judgements based on traditional notions concerning the respective qualities of men and women. The Committee accordingly requested detailed information on the minimum or basic wage rates and the average actual earnings of men and women employed in different sectors or occupations (including those where one sex predominates) broken down by seniority and skill level, as well as information on the percentage of women and men employed in these different sectors or occupations. In its present report, the Government states that statistics comparing the average actual earnings of men and women in different occupations, broken down by seniority and skill level, are not available.

4. Following the enactment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, 1985, the Government reported on its efforts to promote equal employment opportunities for women, stating that the previous lack of such equality was a factor which accounted for the wage differential between men and women. The Committee noted that measures had been taken to ensure equality of access of men and women to either of the two career tracks distinguished in occupational classifications (referred to as "main or key work" and "auxiliary work"). The Committee was unable to ascertain progress on this matter due to the lack of detailed information on the enterprises or economic sectors where different wage scales were set for these categories or on the percentages of men and women in each category. The Committee did, however, cite information provided by the Government concerning a survey which revealed that only 23 per cent of enterprises stated that they assigned women to all jobs while the others stated that they assign them to jobs "where they can display their characteristics and sensitivity as females", or where "they can make the best use of their special skills" or to "subsidiary jobs" only.

5. During the discussion of this matter in the 1993 Conference Committee, a Government representative stated that the wage differential between the sexes was a result of men and women working in different sectors, as well as differences in the number of years of service under a seniority-based wage system, rather than the insufficient application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. She also stated that, in order to solve the problem of the segregation of men and women into different areas of work, the Government was making efforts to promote the enforcement of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, 1985. Moreover, as differences in the number of years of service of men and women were caused partly by the difficulty in balancing professional and family responsibilities, the Government had enacted the Child Care Leave Act, 1992. In its report, the Government states that, although the Equal Employment Opportunity Act has no direct relevance to this Convention (because it does not prescribe equal pay), guidelines concerning recruitment, hiring, job assignment and promotion have been formulated under section 33 of the Act, which empower the Minister of Labour to provide advice, guidance or recommendations to an employer. The Government also indicates that the tripartite Women's and Young Workers' Problems Council is examining the ways and means of ensuring a full understanding of and compliance with the Act.

6. The Committee notes the Government's increased efforts to promote equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women as a means of furthering the application of this Convention. It trusts that the Government will describe, in more detail, the particular measures taken in this regard in its future reports. The segregation of men and women into different sectors, occupations and specific jobs within enterprises has resulted in all countries from strongly entrenched historical and social attitudes. The particular issue of segregation would not, however, pose a problem under the Convention were it not for the fact that the jobs in which women are predominantly employed are almost invariably paid less than those held primarily by men. It is with a view to reducing the difference in wages resulting from traditional stereotypes with regard to the value of "women's" work that the Committee has emphasized the importance of adopting and applying in a uniform way, non-discriminatory criteria to evaluate the different work of men and women. Accordingly, the Committee hopes that the Government will consider, in consultation with the social partners, how to evaluate and compare the different work of men and women on the basis of objective criteria. The Committee also recalls its 1990 General Observation where it observed that governments experienced difficulties in applying the Convention when they lacked knowledge of the true situation, due to the unavailability or inadequacy of data and research. Accordingly, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to compile and supply the necessary information on earnings and related factors in order to document fully the nature and extent of existing inequalities so that appropriate remedies can be devised.