Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Peru (Ratification: 1960)

The Committee notes the observations sent by the Confederation of Workers of Peru (CTP) on 26 August 2014, according to which the unemployment and underemployment rates are higher for women than for men. The Committee also notes the observations sent by the Single Confederation of Workers of Peru (CUT) and the Autonomous Workers’ Confederation of Peru (CATP), which were received on 2 September 2014. According to the CUT, women workers are largely found in the sectors of commerce, health and education, where unregistered and short-term work predominates (more than 50 per cent have temporary or part-time contracts). The CATP states that occupational segregation aggravates the wage gap, that the Government has not adopted any mechanism for the objective evaluation of jobs and that the National Gender Equality Plan 2012–17 (PLANIG 2012–17) does not deal with these issues. The Committee also notes the observations sent by the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP) on 16 September 2014. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments on these observations.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Wage gap. In its previous observation, the Committee noted the programmes and measures that had been adopted and asked the Government to provide information on their impact in terms of ensuring equal remuneration for men and women and narrowing the wage gap. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the national employment policy takes account of the characteristics and needs of women and men, especially the most vulnerable groups of the population. One of the components of this policy seeks to implement positive action in favour of women to reduce the occupational segregation between men and women, to promote women’s access to managerial and highly specialized posts and to encourage the establishment of childcare services within enterprises. The Government adds that the goals of PLANIG 2012–17 include increasing the participation of women in the labour market and improving the quality of employment. As part of its implementation, there has been significant participation by women in training and production projects, and their average wages have increased. Three employment programmes – Jóvenes a la Obra, Vamos Perú and Trabaja Perú – include improved access for women to a wider range of jobs among their objectives. However, the Committee observes that, according to statistics of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the average income for women in 2012 was 66.6 per cent of the income of men (64.4 per cent for urban areas and 57.3 per cent for rural areas). The Committee stresses that wage differentials remain one of the most persistent forms of inequality between women and men. The persistence of these differentials requires governments, together with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to take more proactive measures to raise awareness of the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and to evaluate and promote that application and make it effective (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 669). The Committee recalls that it is particularly important to have full and reliable statistics relating to the remuneration of men and women in order to formulate, implement and evaluate the measures taken to eliminate pay differentials. The compilation, analysis and dissemination of this information are fundamental for detecting and addressing pay inequality (see General Survey, 2012, paragraph 888). The Committee asks the Government to take measures to identify and address the underlying causes of the existing wage gap, such as gender-based discrimination, gender stereotypes relating to the aspirations, preferences and abilities of women, or vertical and horizontal occupational segregation, and to promote women’s access to a wider range of jobs at all levels, including managerial posts and better paid jobs. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any developments in this respect, and on the measures to raise awareness of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value implemented among employers, workers and their organizations in the context of PLANIG 2012–17. The Committee further asks the Government to supply statistics disaggregated by sex on the distribution of men and women in the labour market and on the remuneration received by men and women by sector of economic activity, including the public sector.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. In its previous observation, the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the job evaluation system which was being developed by the Directorate-General of Fundamental Rights and Occupational Health and Safety. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that this Directorate is conducting an experiment with two private companies in relation to the validation of job evaluation methodology incorporating gender mainstreaming. Once the experiment is complete, a “Guide to the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women” will be drawn up. The purpose of the guide will be to disseminate the principle of the Convention, help employers in the fixing of wages and promote the incorporation of the principle of the Convention in collective bargaining. The guide will be for use by public and private enterprises of all sizes in all sectors. In view of the persistence of the gender wage gap, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to adopt an objective job evaluation system without delay. The Committee asks the Government to provide more details of the “Guide to the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women”, and particularly regarding how it will ensure that job evaluation is conducted on the basis of absolutely objective criteria that are free of any gender bias. The Government is also asked to provide a copy of the guide, once it has been adopted.

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