Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Rwanda (Ratification: 1980)

1.The Committee notes the report of the Government and the accompanying observations of the Central Trade Union of Rwanda (CESTRAR). With regard to the comment made by CESTRAR concerning the fact that women workers are not entitled to the deduction made from income tax in respect of dependants (children and spouses), the Committee notes the Government’s explanation that women may benefit from this exemption in so far as they prove that they are de facto heads of the household. The Committee understands that the purpose of this is to prevent households from declaring the same children twice and thus benefiting from a double tax deduction. The Committee also notes that the system is a logical outcome of the application of section 206 of book one of the Civil Code of Rwanda which establishes that the husband is the head of the household as a matter of principle. The Committee asks the Government to consider amending this article of the Civil Code in the medium term to provide that both spouses are treated as heads of the household on an equal basis. It also asks the Government to indicate whether the formalities required of women to prove that they are de facto heads of household are also required of men who hold this responsibility. If that is not the case, the Committee suggests that the Government should let the two spouses of the household decide for themselves which one will declare the children as dependants and thus benefit from the income tax deduction.

2. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the Transitional National Assembly has just adopted a draft Labour Code. The Committee therefore trusts that the Government will shortly send a copy of the adopted text. It hopes that the new text amends former section 82 in order to reflect more faithfully the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, rather than for the same or similar work. The Committee wishes to stress that the term "equal conditions, as regards work, skill and output" is not synonymous with "work of equal value". Furthermore, while performance appraisal criteria such as skill and output and their equivalents are not discriminatory in themselves as a basis for wage differentiation, they must be applied in good faith. In its General Survey of 1986 (paragraph 54), the Committee pointed out that experience has shown that in practice, insistence on "equal conditions as regards work, skill and output can be taken as a pretext for paying women lower wages than men". The Committee notes that the legislation of Rwanda does not establish penalties for breaches of the principle of equal pay for men and women, and recalls that such penalties serve a dual purpose: to punish those responsible for discrimination, but also, and above all, to prevent breaches by being sufficiently dissuasive. The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government would indicate the means of redress currently available to a woman worker who considers that she has sustained injury through breach of the principle of equal pay for men and women guaranteed by the Convention, and any compensation she may be entitled to expect. The Committee therefore asks the Government to adopt specific penalties as soon as possible for breaches of this principle.

3. Further to its previous comments on the circular of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs adopted as a result of the observation that "some enterprises do not respect the principle of equal treatment towards women in regard to the granting of certain allowances. This is the case for allowances made for reimbursement of expenditure on telephone, electricity and water costs incurred by workers at their homes. Certain private enterprises in Rwanda exclude women workers from this advantage". The Committee wishes to stress that workers’ and employers’ organizations share in the responsibility for the effective application of the principle of equal remuneration.

4. The Committee noted that the labour inspectorate lacks the human and material resources to supervise effectively the application of the principle of equal remuneration. It hopes that the Government will be in a position in the future to supply the inspectorate with the necessary means to guarantee the enforcement of the Convention.

5. With regard to the labour statistics disaggregated by sex, the Committee notes that Rwanda is still awaiting technical assistance from the Office and trusts that Rwanda’s request will soon be met. The Committee notes that the next wage scales for public servants in the central administration will be disaggregated by sex and asks the Government to provide a copy of them as soon as they are finalized and to indicate the percentage of women as compared to men in category I.

6. The Committee notes that the description of jobs in the public service is still in preparation, and trusts that the Government will continue to keep it informed of progress made in this respect and will provide a copy of the conclusions of the survey and the measures taken or envisaged to implement them.