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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Republic of Korea (Ratification: 1997)

The Committee notes the observations from the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korea Employers’ Federation (KEF), annexed to the report, and the Government’s reply thereto.

Gender wage gap. The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government, according to which in 2012, women earned 68.4 per cent of men’s hourly wages (or a gender wage gap of 31.6 per cent). While overall women’s wages improved slightly in manufacturing and wholesale and retail, the data indicate that the gender wage gap still remains largely over 30 per cent (2012 Survey on Employment-type Based Labour, Ministry of Employment and Labour). The Committee notes, however, that the FKTU provides data indicating that the gender wage gap hardly improved and even widened in some industries in which women are predominantly employed (Report on Women and Employment of the Ministry of Employment and Labour (2012)). The Committee also notes from the Government’s report that when the hourly and gross monthly wages of regular and non-regular workers are compared, female regular workers earned 62.8 per cent of male regular workers while the wage gap was considerably higher for female non-regular workers who earned 48 per cent of male regular workers’ hourly wages and 37.7 per cent of male regular workers’ monthly wages (according to the FKTU, these figures were 40.3 per cent (hourly wages) and 35.4 per cent (monthly wages) of those of male regular workers). The Committee further notes that according to the Supplementary Results of the Economically Active Population Survey in August 2012, non-regular workers (contingent, part-time and atypical workers) represented 33.3 per cent of all wage earners of whom 53.4 per cent were women; female non-regular workers represented 41.5 per cent of all female wage earners; according to the FKTU, these figures are 47.8 per cent, 53.3 per cent and 59.4 per cent, respectively. The Committee further notes the statistics provided by the Government and the KEF on the wage gap between regular and non-regular workers and the KEF’s comment in this regard that an assessment of the part of the wage gap that is due to discrimination requires an analysis that takes the characteristics of the industries and human factors into account. While noting the diverging opinions of the Government and the FKTU regarding the size of the gender wage gap, the Committee nonetheless considers that despite some positive trends, the overall hourly and monthly gender wage gap, especially when comparing regular and non-regular workers, remains significant. The Committee therefore asks the Government to continue to analyse and provide statistical information on the gender wage gap, including data calculated on the basis of hourly and monthly wages, and data disaggregated by industry and occupation, regular and non-regular employment, and in the public and private sectors.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Legislation and measures to address the gender pay gap. Regarding measures to ensure that wages in sectors and occupations in which women are predominantly employed are not set on the basis of gender-biased evaluation of the work performed, the Committee notes that the Government refers to the provisions of the “Equal Treatment Regulation” regulating wage discrimination and the yearly inspections in workplaces in which women are predominantly employed to ensure compliance with the principle of equal pay (1,132 workplaces in 2012). The Government also mentions measures to avoid career interruptions by women and assist women in combining work and family, which the Committee addresses in its direct request on this Convention. The Committee notes that the FKTU considers that difficulties remain in applying the concept of work of equal value in female-dominated industries and that the Government’s efforts in eliminating the gender wage gap are insufficient because no objective job analysis has been undertaken in these industries.

The Committee previously noted that section 8(1) of the Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation only provides for equal wages for work of equal value “in the same business” and that the Ministry of Labour Regulation No. 422 on Handling Equal Employment Matters (Equal Treatment Regulation) and the Supreme Court ruling of 2003 (2003DO2883) on the Regulation, limited the possibility of comparing work performed by men and women to “slightly different” work. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that Regulation No. 422 was amended in June 2013 and that “the understanding of the concept of work of equal value has broadened from work of almost equal value or ‘slightly different’ work to ‘work of a similar nature’”. The Committee notes, however, that “work of a similar nature” is more restrictive than the wording required by the Convention, and the Committee underlines that the concept of equal value is fundamental to tackling occupational sex segregation as it permits a broad scope of comparison, including, but going beyond, equal remuneration for “similar” work and also encompasses work that is of an entirely different nature, which is nevertheless of equal value. The Committee draws the Government’s attention in this regard to its General Survey, including the examples of different jobs which were found to be of equal value (see General Survey on fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraphs 673–675). The Committee notes the occupational sex segregation of the Korean labour market and the high gender wage gap in female dominated industries, and points out that occupational sex segregation tends to correlate with the undervaluation of “female jobs” in comparison of those of men who are performing different work and using different skills, when determining wage rates. Where women are more heavily concentrated in certain sectors or occupations, there is a risk that the possibilities for comparison at the enterprise or establishment level will be insufficient (see General Survey on fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 697–698). Therefore, and in light of the persistent and high gender wage gap, particularly in sectors in which women are predominantly employed, the Committee urges the Government to take immediate steps to examine, in cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations, which measures are most urgently needed to reduce the gender wage gap in these sectors in an effective manner, and provide information on any progress made in this regard. It asks the Government to take the necessary steps, in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to assess in a comprehensive manner whether wages in female dominant occupations and sectors are set on the basis of an under-evaluation of the work performed, and provide the results of this assessment. The Committee, however, urges the Government to take the necessary steps to bring the Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation and the Equal Treatment Regulation into full conformity with the Convention so as to ensure that men and women receive equal remuneration not only for work of a similar nature but also for work that is entirely different but nevertheless of equal value, and that the scope of comparison between men and women extends beyond the same establishment or enterprise.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.