Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Mauritius (Ratification: 2002)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report and the supplementary information provided in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020).

Legislative developments. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government regarding: (1) the adoption of the Workers’ Rights Act, No. 20 of 2019 (WRA) that repealed the Employment Rights Act, 2008 (ERiA) and includes new provisions on the application of the principle of the Convention (section 26); (2) the establishment of a National Wage Consultative Council (NWCC) following the adoption of the National Wage Consultative Council Act, No 6 of 2016 (NWCCA); and (3) the adoption of the Additional Remuneration and Other Allowances Act, (AROAA) No. 24 of 2018.

Article 2 of the Convention. Public service schemes. In its last comment, the Committee encouraged the Government to collect data on the occupational gender segregation in the public sector and requested information on the measures taken to ensure that appropriate methods, free from gender bias, were being used for the evaluation of the different occupations and the determination of corresponding salary grading. The Committee notes that in this regard, the Government indicates that the Pay Research Bureau (PRB), responsible for the review of pay and grading structures in the public sector, produced a report in 2016 incorporating the principle of the Convention and that this report will be valid for a period of five years. The Committee notes however, from the statistics provided by the Government, that occupational segregation remains prevalent in the public sector (for instance in 2018, there were 3033 women and 1511 men clerks; and 1071 women and 1646 men legislators, senior officials and managers). Therefore, the Committee requests the Government to : (i) indicate whether in its next evaluation, the Pay Research Bureau examined the different occupations and corresponding gradings, on the basis of objective factors free from gender bias (such as skills, efforts, responsibilities and working conditions); (ii) provide a copy of any recommendations and guidelines of the Pay Research Bureau; and (iii) provide information on any additional measures envisaged or adopted to ensure the application of the principle of the Convention in the public sector.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation in the private sector. The Committee previously noted that the limited capacities of the National Remuneration Board (NRB), responsible for making recommendations on remuneration in the private sector, had prevented the application of the methods of evaluation used by the PRB for the public sector. The Committee notes that in this regard, the Government indicates that an extension of the Decent Work Country Programme is under discussion and would include activities to enhance capacity building on objective job evaluations in the private sector. The Committee also observes that section 26 of the newly adopted WRA requires employers to ensure that the remuneration of a worker is not less favourable than the remuneration of another worker performing work of equal value and enumerates criteria to be taken into account to determine whether there exists an element of discrimination in this respect. Among these criteria, the Committee notes with interest that section 26 (2)(a) of the WRA requires that the rates and types of remuneration be based on an objective job evaluation, and that section 26 (2)(d) and (e) refers to the use of objective factors to performs these evaluations such as skills, efforts, responsibilities and working conditions. The Committee requests the Government to: (i) provide information on whether the National Remuneration Board has conducted an evaluation of the jobs and corresponding remuneration levels applied in the private sector, using objective factors free of gender bias (such as skills, efforts, responsibilities and working conditions); (ii) indicate whether objective job evaluations are being conducted in practice by employers in application of section 26 of the Workers’ Rights Act; and (iii) indicate whether it has received ILO technical assistance in the context of the Decent Work County Programme or in other context in relation with the conduct of objective job evaluations in the private sector, and if applicable, information on the results of these activities.

Minimum Wage and additional remuneration. The Committee notes with interest the indication by the Government that following adoption of the NWCA, a national minimum wage was introduced in 2017. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that workers have benefited from additional remuneration and other allowances to compensate increases in the cost of living, in application of the AROAA. The Committee welcomes these initiatives and recalls that as women predominate in low-wage employment and as a uniform national minimum wage system helps to raise earnings of the lowest paid, it has an influence on the relationship between men and women’s wages and on reducing the gender pay gap. With regard to the additional remuneration and other allowances that are provided for under the AROAA, the Committee stresses that the Convention sets out a very broad definition of “remuneration” covered by the principle of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the introduction of the national minimum wage on the gender pay gap, and on whether the additional remuneration and other allowances recently introduced have benefited equally to both men and women and have contributed to reducing the gender pay gap.

Article 4. Cooperation with social partners. Following its previous request in this regard, the Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that it collaborates with the social partners on the application of the Convention in the context of various tripartite bodies, including the National Minimum Wage Consultative Council (NWCC) established in September 2016, the National Tripartite Council (NTC) that replaced the National Tripartite Forum (NTF) and the Labour Advisory Council, following the entry into force of the WRA. The Committee requests the Government to indicate how the National Minimum Wage Consultative Council and the National Tripartite Council are taking into account the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value in formulating their recommendations. In addition, the Committee requests again the Government to provide copies of any collective agreements containing provisions implementing the principle of the Convention.

Enforcement. Following its previous request for information on the enforcement of the Convention, the Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government on the activities of the labour inspectorate. Specifically, it notes that between June 2019 and June 2020, awareness-raising activities on the Convention have included 129 talks (to 631 men and 1,220 women worker participants), 26 training sessions, and 2,721 information activities for the public at large. The Committee also noted the information provided on the measures adopted following the confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the enlistment of 115 labour officers to provide advice on-line or over the phone, the conduct of on-site enquiries in exceptional circumstances, and the publication of officers’ phone numbers to allow for complaints to be made over the phone. With regard to the enforcement of the Convention by the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) and Tribunal (EOT), the Committee notes that the Government does not provide information on the complaints dealt with by the EOC and the EOT that specifically relate to the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on the number of complaints filed in relation to the application of the principle of the Convention, the number of such cases detected by the labour inspectorate, and the outcome of these cases (sanctions imposed, number of cases referred to court, etc…). The Committee also requests information on the number of such cases dealt with by the Equal Opportunity Commission and the Equal Opportunity Tribunal and other dispute settlement bodies.

Statistics. Following its previous request for detailed statistical information to assess the application of the Convention in practice, the Committee notes that once again, the statistics provided for the public sector refer to the distribution of men and women in selected occupations without providing information on the corresponding earnings, while those provided for the private sector refer to the average earnings in selected occupations by industry groups, without providing information on the distribution of men and women in the different occupations. The Committee requests the Government to collect statistical data disaggregated by sex on the remuneration of workers, classified by branch of economic activity and occupations. The Committee also refers to its general observation adopted in 1998 on the application of the Convention for more details on the statistics to be collected to fully assess the application of the principle of the Convention.