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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Zambia (Ratification: 1972)

Article 1 of the Convention. Legislation. The Committee recalls that the draft Employment Act (Amendment Bill) defines equal pay for work of equal value as meaning that “an expatriate or Zambian professional with matching qualifications holding similar roles be remunerated equitably”, which is narrower than the concept of “equal remuneration for work of equal value” set out in Article 1(b) of the Convention. Moreover, the definition does not address equal remuneration between men and women. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the proposed amendments to the Employment Act, Cap 268, have not yet been adopted but that the word “equitably” has been changed to read “equally”, and that the definition embraces the concept of equal remuneration between men and women. The Committee must note that even with these modifications the concept of equal remuneration in the draft provisions continues to be narrower than the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value set out in the Convention. The Committee refers to its 2006 general observation, and urges the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the final provisions of the Employment Act, will specifically guarantee equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value, and will not be limited to equal remuneration for men and women performing work that is similar or the same, but will cover also work performed by men and women in conditions that are entirely different but nevertheless of equal value. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on further progress made in reviewing the Employment Act in this respect.

Analysing the gender remuneration gap. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a comprehensive wages survey has not yet been undertaken and that technical assistance has been sought from the Office to improve wage data collection. A Wage Module will be developed with ILO assistance for the Labour Force Survey in 2012. The Committee hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to collect data on employment and earnings in the various industries, sectors and occupations, that are disaggregated by sex, with a view to assessing the nature and extent of the remuneration gap in the country, and asks the Government to provide information on wage data collected in the context of the Labour Force Survey 2012, including any preliminary results, as soon as these are available.

Earnings differentials between men and women. The Committee previously noted from the Labour Force Survey that significant differences in earnings existed between men and women, with men earning almost twice as much as women, especially in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries, in which women predominated (52.3 per cent) and within the energy industry and in managerial occupations. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that men and women who have the same jobs and qualifications receive the same wages, and that the wage differences may be attributed to the fact that the Labour Force Survey focused on average monthly earnings in a particular occupation (for both the formal and informal economy) and because of the number of women working in the informal economy and positions they held at the time of the survey. As real differences in earnings between men and women may also be attributed to the differences in educational levels, the Government has adopted the affirmative action (re-entry) policy to enable pregnant students to return to school after delivery. The Committee recalls that measures to promote and ensure equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value should go beyond ensuring equal remuneration for men and women performing the same jobs and having the same qualifications. As the principle is closely linked to position and status of women more generally in employment and society, wage inequalities often arise due to segregation of men and women in certain sectors and occupations, often resulting from societal stereotypes on the suitability of certain jobs to men and women. Therefore, measures are required to improve the access of women to a wider range of job opportunities and at all levels to help to reduce inequalities in remuneration that exist between men and women in the labour market. The Committee therefore asks the Government, with a view to addressing the significant differences in earnings between men and women noted previously, to take more proactive measures, including addressing occupational gender stereotyping and examining the underlying causes of the gender pay gap covering both the formal and informal economy. The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed information on the implementation of all measures taken or envisaged, including under the National Gender Policy, and the results achieved, with a view to reducing differences in remuneration between men and women and promoting the principle of the Convention. With respect to the activities of the Citizens Economic Empowerment Committee, including skills development and preferential procurement and reservation schemes for women, the Committee asks the Government to refer to its comments on the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111).

Collective agreements. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide information, where available, on the distribution of men and women in the different grades and wage scales provided for in collective agreements that have been concluded for the public health sector, the building and engineering sector, the security services sector, the financial institutions and the mining sector.