Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Zimbabwe (Ratification: 1989)

The Committee notes the observations of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) of 31 August 2017, as well as the Government’s reply received on 2 November 2017.

Article 1 of the Convention. Work of equal value. The Committee has been referring for a number of years to section 5(2)(a) of the Labour Act which provides for equal remuneration between men and women for work of equal value but defines “work of equal value” as meaning “work that involves similar or substantially similar skills, duties, responsibilities and conditions”, which could unduly restrict the scope of comparison of jobs performed by men and women. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that an agreement was reached with the social partners to amend the definition of “work of equal value” and that a draft bill amending the Labour Act is being elaborated, inter alia, to ensure that “work of equal value” has a broader scope as provided for in the Convention. While recalling its previous comments on article 65(6) of the Constitution, which only provides for equal remuneration for “similar work” and thus did not fully reflect the concept of “work of equal value”, the Committee notes the ZCTU’s statement that the draft bill provides that “equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value refers to the rate of remuneration established without basing on gender” which in ZCTU’s view does not address the concerns previously raised by the Committee. The Committee notes that the Government encourages the ZCTU to bring this issue before the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) as the draft bill will take into consideration all the concerns expressed by the tripartite partners. While noting that the provision in the draft bill does not seem to define what should be considered as “work of equal value”, the Committee again draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the concept of “work of equal value” as provided for under the Convention is fundamental to tackling occupational sex segregation in the labour market, as it permits a broad scope of comparison, including, but going beyond equal remuneration for “equal”, “the same”, or “similar” work, but also encompassing work of an entirely different nature, which is nevertheless of equal value (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 672–675). In light of the ongoing legislative developments, the Committee trusts that the Government will take the opportunity of the amendment of the Labour Act to effectively consider the concerns raised by the Committee, for a number of years, in order to ensure that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value will be fully reflected in the national legislation, and that the final text of the Labour Act will allow for the comparison not only of work that involves similar qualifications and skills, effort, responsibilities and conditions of work, but also of work of an entirely different nature which is nevertheless of equal value. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Article 2. Measures to address the gender pay gap. The Committee previously noted the continuing vertical and horizontal occupational segregation, as well as the persistent gender pay gap with women being concentrated in low-paying jobs, mostly in the agriculture and private domestic sectors. Referring to its previous comments on the National Gender Policy (2013–17) which provides for a strategy to advocate equity in formal employment and remuneration, and mechanisms that increase opportunities for women’s employment, the Committee notes the Government’s general indication that the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare is working towards ensuring equal opportunities for men and women in the labour market. The Committee however notes the ZCTU’s statement that no tangible progress has been made with regard to the gender pay gap, and that comprehensive measures must be taken by the Government to address the real causes of the gender pay gap. It notes the ZCTU’s indication that, according to the data available in 2016 from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat), only 14 per cent of economically active women were in paid employment (against 30 per cent of men), as the majority of women are unemployed, underemployed or employed in the informal economy. The Committee notes that, according to the last Labour Force Survey, published in March 2015 by the Zimstat, the share of informal employment of total employment increased from 84.2 per cent in 2011 to 94.5 per cent in 2014, and it was estimated that women still accounted for 52.4 per cent within the informal economy. It also notes that the survey on the “Situational analysis of women in the informal economy in Zimbabwe” published by the ILO in 2017, highlighted that women employed in the informal economy receive only low and irregular incomes as it was estimated that 61.3 per cent of women in the informal economy were earning below US$100 per month (pages 11–12). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on any measures taken in the context of the National Gender Policy (2013–17) or otherwise to advocate equity in remuneration and address the structural causes of the gender pay gap, including occupational gender segregation of the labour market and the low rates of remuneration for jobs predominantly occupied by women. Noting that the National Gender Policy 2013–17 provides for a monitoring and evaluation framework, the Committee requests the Government to forward a copy of any report assessing the impact of the policy as well as to provide information on any follow-up measures envisaged.

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