Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Ghana (Ratification: 1968)

Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention. Collective agreements. The Committee recalls that it has been commenting for a number of years on collective agreements that contained provisions discriminating against women, in particular with respect to particular benefits. The Committee notes that the Government’s report again does not contain any specific information in response to the Committee’s previous requests in this regard. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps, in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to ensure that provisions of collective agreements do not discriminate on the ground of sex. Please also provide information on any measures taken or envisaged, in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to promote the principle of equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value, including objective job evaluation methods, through collective agreements. Please also provide examples of collective agreements reflecting the principle under the Convention.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation in the private sector. The Committee recalls that, according to the Ghana Living Standards Survey published in September 2008 by the Ghana Statistical Service, on average, men receive higher earnings than women. The Committee notes that the sixth round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey will end in September 2013. The Committee recalls that for the purpose of ensuring gender equality in the determination of remuneration, analytical methods of job evaluation have been found to be the most effective (see General Survey on fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 700). The Committee asks the Government to provide updated information on the gender pay gap in the private sector, including statistical information based on the results of the recent Ghana Living Standards Survey. It also asks the Government to take steps to promote objective job evaluation methods in the private sector to eliminate unequal pay, and to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

Article 4. Tripartite cooperation. The Committee notes that the Government repeats its previous indication that the Government and workers’ and employers’ organizations took active steps to promote a better understanding and implementation of the principle of equal remuneration, through regular tripartite consultation in the framework of the National Tripartite Committee and in determining the national minimum wage. Recalling the important role of the employers’ and workers’ organizations in promoting the principle of the Convention, the Committee again asks the Government to provide specific information on the concrete steps and action undertaken to promote the principle of the Convention, and the results of such initiatives. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate whether equal remuneration between men and women has been discussed specifically within the National Tripartite Committee, and how the principle has been reflected in the establishment of the minimum wage.

Part IV of the report form. Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Labour Commission and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission deal with issues pertaining to grievances of workers, particularly those regarding equal remuneration. The Government also indicates that an alternative dispute resolution centre pursuant to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2010 serves as an additional forum to deal with complaints regarding remuneration. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any decisions by the courts, the National Labour Commission, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre or any other competent body, as well as on any violations identified by, or reported to, labour inspectors, relating to equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.