Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Saint Lucia (Ratification: 1983)

The Committee notes with deep concern that the Government’s report, due since 2014, has not been received. In light of its urgent appeal launched to the Government in 2020, the Committee proceeds with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the information at its disposal. The Committee notes that, in its “Report on the comprehensive national level review of the status of implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action” (Beijing+25 report) of 2019, the Government indicated that women continue to account for the larger percentage of the poor. As indicated in the “Gender at Work in the Caribbean – Country report: Saint Lucia” published by the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean in 2018: (1) in all occupations except clerical support workers and technicians and associate professionals, men earn more than women; and (2) despite section 270 of the Labour Act which states that men and women must be paid equal remuneration for performing work of equal value, gender pay gaps persist (see the Committee’s observation in this regard).

Article 1(b) and (2) of the Convention. Equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Agricultural sector, including banana plantations. The Committee noted the Government’s statement, in its previous report, that remuneration in the agricultural sector is generally determined by task and availability of labour. Labour-intensive tasks are usually higher paid and generally attract male workers, while tasks executed by both male and female workers are paid the same. The Committee recalls that the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value includes but goes beyond equal remuneration for “equal”, the “same” or “similar” work, and also encompasses work that is of an entirely different nature, which is nevertheless of equal value. It draws the attention of the Government to the fact that in order to establish whether different jobs are of equal value, there has to be an examination of the respective tasks involved. This examination must be undertaken on the basis of entirely objective and non-discriminatory criteria to avoid an assessment being tainted by gender bias. Particular care must be taken to ensure that skills considered to be “female” are not undervalued or even overlooked, in comparison with traditionally “male” skills, such as labour-intensive work or heavy lifting. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to: (i) ensure that the criteria used and the weighing of factors to determine wages in the agricultural sector are non-discriminatory and free from gender bias; and (ii) eliminate any stereotyped assumptions regarding women’s ambitions, preferences and capabilities, tending to exclude them from higher paid jobs in the agricultural sector, and to report on the progress made in this regard.

Article 2(2)(b). Minimum wages. The Committee notes that for years it has been asking the Government about the activities of the Minimum Wages Commission. It recalls that the setting of minimum wages is an important means by which the Convention is applied as women predominate in low-wage employment. A uniform national minimum wage system helps to raise the earnings of the lowest paid and thus has an influence on the relationship between men and women’s wages and on reducing the gender pay gap. However, minimum wages are often set at the sectoral level or in respect of employees and there is a tendency to set lower wages for sectors predominantly employing women. The Committee recalls that in the case of minimum wage fixing at the sector level, special attention is needed in the design or adjustment of sectoral minimum wage schemes to ensure that the rates fixed are free from gender bias, and in particular that certain skills considered to be “female” are not undervalued (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 683).  The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted by the Minimum Wages Commission to ensure minimum wage rates for specified groups of employees or sectors are fixed, based on objective criteria, free from gender bias, and that work in sectors with a high proportion of women is not being undervalued in comparison with sectors in which men are predominantly employed. It also asks the Government to provide copies of any Minimum Wage Orders adopted for specified groups or sectors.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. In its previous comment, the Committee noted the Government’s statement that the evaluation methods used in consultation with trade unions were aimed at addressing grades and scales to ensure that pay is a reflection of the work done. In some cases, this had led to increases in women’s wages. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that the methods used are free from gender bias. It also asks the Government to provide examples of job evaluation exercises in private and public sector establishments, where available, and an indication on whether these have had an impact on reducing existing wage differentials between men and women.

Enforcement. Labour inspection. In its last report in 2014, the Government had indicated that the Labour Department was in the process of enhancing the labour inspection programme with a view to improving its effectiveness in enforcing principles of equality. Please provide details on the specific activities undertaken to increase the awareness and capacity of the labour inspection services to enforce and promote the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value contained in the Equality of Opportunity and Treatment Act.

Statistics. In its previous comment, the Committee noted, once again, the absence in the Government’s report of any statistics disaggregated by sex regarding workers at different grades or wage scales. The Committee also notes the assessment made in the above-mentioned “Gender at Work in the Caribbean – Country report: Saint Lucia” report which found important gaps in strategic information in relation to gender issues, such as, inter alia: (1) the paucity of sex-disaggregated data on informal employment and part-time work in surveys related to the world of work; and (2) the absence of publicly accessible sex-disaggregated data on complaints brought to the Labour Commissioner or Labour Tribunal on matters of gender discrimination in employment. In view of the above, the Committee asks the Government to take concrete steps to put in place a system for the collection and analysis of statistics, disaggregated by sex, in line with the Committee’s 1998 general observation on this matter, and to report on the progress made in this regard.