Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Argentina (Ratification: 1956)

The Committee notes the observations from the General Confederation of Labour of the Republic of Argentina (CGT RA) of 31 August 2011 referring to the difference in the type of work carried out by men and women, which results in wage discrepancies. The Committee asks the Government to send its comments in response.

Wage gap. Tripartite committees on equality of opportunity and treatment. Noting that the Government’s report does not contain any additional information on this matter, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote the incorporation of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in collective agreements. The Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on the collective agreements incorporating the principle of the Convention, and on the participation of women in the representational activities of workers’ organizations, as well as the impact of such participation on the achievement of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.

Public sector. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, it is envisaged in the context of the negotiations on the working conditions for the civilian and teaching staff of the armed forces, that the concept of gender is to be included. Similarly, the obligation to respect the principles of equal opportunities is contained in the collective agreement of the National Auditing Office, signed in 2010. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the policies that seek to promote greater representation of women in the ministries in which they are less well represented and in executive positions in the public administration, and to continue to provide information on the representation of women in the public sector.

The Committee notes that the Government has not sent any specific information on the other issues pending, which are as follows:

Private sector. According to studies conducted by the CIOT, in sectors of the economy that have a high percentage of women, wages are lower than in sectors with a predominance of male workers, and in the latter sector wages drop as jobs become feminized. According to data from the Subsecretariat for technical programmes and labour studies, women earn 30 per cent less on average than men for work of equal value and with comparable backgrounds. Furthermore, according to 2008 data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), of the population with no income of their own in Argentina, 32.3 per cent are women and 10.4 per cent, men. According to data of August 2008 from the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, 50 per cent of women who work are in the informal economy in unstable employment with no social coverage and almost one fifth of all working women are employed in private households as domestic staff. The Committee notes the Government’s statement regarding stereotypes that perpetuate the wage gap between men and women, including: women stop working when they become mothers; theirs is a second income, additional to the main one which is earned by men; women have less training; women are not interested in becoming bosses; or women are deemed by employers to cost more than men. The Government indicates that the wage differential between men and women is due, amongst other things, to the different value placed on activities and skills that society associates with the cultural construct of domains belonging to women and on the sectors occupied by men. The Committee asks the Government in its next report to provide information on the measures being adopted to overcome these perceptions and stereotypes, and to promote objective job evaluation in order to ensure the right to equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, set out in the Convention.

The Committee takes note of the pilot programme of the National Institution against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI) for the certification of gender equality employers, MEGA 2009, the aim of which is to encourage innovative tools for the management of diversity in enterprises. Enterprises seeking certification must ensure that supplements, wages and salaries for staff performing the same duties or having the same responsibilities are equal, although they may apply proportional differences on the basis of seniority and non-discriminatory criteria established formally by the organization for all posts. In addition, they must offer a vocational development programme allowing equal career opportunities to be offered to men and women, promoting a gender balance in job type, decision-making level and pay. The Committee requests the Government to send further information on the manner in which certified enterprises implement the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value in practice.