Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Uganda (Ratification: 2005)

The Committee notes with concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Definition of remuneration. Legislation. In its previous comment, the Committee noted that the definition of “wages” in section 2 of the Employment Act, 2006 excludes explicitly “contributions made or to be made by the employer in respect of his or her employee’s insurance, medical care, welfare, education, training, invalidity, retirement pension, post-service gratuity or severance allowance”. With a view to implementing fully the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value, the Committee requested the Government to amend the legislation to ensure that “remuneration” is defined so as to include the ordinary, basic or minimum wage or salary and any additional emoluments whatsoever payable directly or indirectly, whether in cash or in kind, by the employer to the worker and arising out of the worker’s employment. The Committee notes the Government’s statement, in its report, that amendments of the Employment Act, 2006 have been drafted which will address, inter alia, the concerns raised in relation to the definition of remuneration.The Committee requests the Government to provide information regarding the progress made to amend the legislation in order to ensure that “remuneration” is defined so as to include not only the ordinary, basic or minimum wage or salary but also any additional emoluments whatsoever payable directly or indirectly, whether in cash or in kind, by the employer to the worker and arising out of the worker’s employment. Please provide a copy of the amended legislation once adopted.

Articles 2 and 3. Application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in the wage determination machinery in the public sector. Objective job evaluation. Previously, the Committee requested the Government to provide details on the method and criteria used for the comprehensive job analysis undertaken for the entire public service, as well as on the results achieved in terms of changes in the established job classifications and corresponding salary scales. It notes the Government’s reply that the method used by the Ministry of Public Service for job analysis included data collection and research to guide job analysis, consultations with stakeholders to obtain their input and ownership, development or review of the jobs, systems, and structures and submission of the proposal to Cabinet for approval before implementation. In this regard, the Committee recalls that the analytical method (also referred to as “point method”) – which allows for all the requirements of the jobs to be systematically examined, evaluated and compared, using common, precise and detailed criteria – is recognized as the most appropriate evaluation method for pay equity purposes (see the General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 700). The Committee notes that the Government did not indicate if the method used by the Ministry of Public Service was analytical (based on a point system) and did not provide any information on the results achieved.The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate which type of method was used in that job evaluation exercise and how it is ensured that the criteria used are free of gender bias so that the evaluation factors, such as qualifications, efforts, responsibility and working conditions, in jobs predominantly occupied by women are not undervalued in comparison to those in jobs predominantly occupied by men. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved in terms of changes in the established job classifications and corresponding salary scales.

Minimum wages. The Committee notes that, in February 2019, the Parliament passed the Minimum Wage Bill, which sought to set up a minimum wage determination mechanism across different sectors of the economy, but that, in August 2019, the President declined to assent to the Bill and rejected it in its entirety. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication, in reply to its previous comment, that the Minimum Wages Advisory Board undertook a comprehensive study of the economy and that its report, making recommendations to the Government on the feasibility of fixing a minimum wage in the country, has been submitted to Cabinet for discussion and approval by the end of November 2019. In this regard, the Committee refers to the observation it adopted in 2018 on the application of the Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) by Uganda, where it noted with concern that the minimum wage, which was last set in 1984, had yet to be adjusted. In this regard, the Committee recalls that the setting of minimum wages is an important means by which the Convention is applied given that, as women predominate in low-wage employment and a uniform national minimum-wage system helps to raise the 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 (see the 2012 General Survey, paragraphs 682–683).The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made towards the adoption of minimum-wage schemes and on the measures taken to ensure that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is taken into consideration throughout the development of such schemes, in particular in sectors with a high proportion of women.

Article 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the term of office of the Labour Advisory Board established in 2015 for three years expired and that the process of establishing a new board was in progress at the time of the Government’s report.The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the establishment of the new Labour Advisory Board as well as its activities and any other initiatives undertaken by workers’ and employers’ organizations with a view to promoting the principle of the Convention.

Awareness-raising activities and enforcement. Specialized body. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the Fifth Annual Report of the Equal Opportunity Commission.

Statistics. The Committee notes that, according to the National Labour Force Survey 2016–17, the median monthly cash earnings for persons whose main job is in paid employment was 450,000 and 400,000 Ugandan shilling (UGX) respectively for men and women workers in the public sector, whereas it was UGX 192,000 and UGX100,000 respectively in the private sector, that is, namely 1.9 times more for men than for women. However, it also notes that it is not indicated if these figures refer to the same number of hours worked per month. The Committee also notes that the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, in its Strategy for the Development of Gender Statistics 2018/19 – 2019/20, indicates that special surveys, such as gender pay gap surveys, can be conducted to capture gender statistics.The Committee requests the Government to indicate if any specific gender pay gap survey has been conducted and to provide any updated statistical data available on the distribution of men and women in the public and private sectors and their corresponding earnings and any statistical information available relating specifically to the gender pay gap.