Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Gabon (Ratification: 1961)

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Determination of rates of remuneration. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes that the Government reaffirms that there is no gender pay discrimination in the country and indicates that it will supply information on any measures taken with regard to job evaluation. It also notes the Government’s indication that a new pay system for public servants came into force on 25 July 2015 and that the purpose of this system is to enhance salaries and hence retirement pensions. The Committee considers that upgrading low salaries, which correspond in most cases to posts occupied by women at the bottom of the pay scale, may have the effect of reducing the gender pay gap. In order to evaluate to what extent the new pay system for public servants can enable the principle of equal pay for men and women for work of equal value to be applied, the Committee requests the Government to explain in detail the methods and criteria used to determine pay levels in the new system, indicating how it is ensured that posts largely occupied by women have not been undervalued in relation to posts largely occupied by men.

Awareness raising and training. Enforcement. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain any information on this point. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the following points: (i) awareness-raising measures and training activities for workers, employers, their respective organizations, labour inspectors and magistrates to enhance their capacity to detect and stop pay inequalities; and (ii) cases of pay discrimination dealt with by labour inspectors or the courts.

Statistics. The Committee notes that the Government refers to the establishment by presidential decree of the National Agency of Statistics and Demographic, Economic and Social Studies (ANSEDES), whose responsibilities include producing, analysing and disseminating official statistics, conducting periodic or one-off surveys of general interest in enterprises or households and measuring the main economic indicators of the country. The Committee recalls that, in order to effectively address the issue of the gender pay gap, it is essential to have data to enable an analysis of posts held by men and women and their respective pay levels, in all job categories, within and between sectors. The Committee trusts that the establishment of ANSEDES will enable the collection and analysis of data on the earnings of men and women by sector of activity, occupation and position in the public and private sectors, and requests the Government to send all information available in this respect.