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

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Switzerland (Ratification: 1972)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Gender wage gaps and their causes. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that, according to the Federal Office for Statistics, gender wage gaps have progressively lessened in the private sector: from an average of 21.3 per cent in 2012 to 19.5 per cent in 2014, they went to 19.6 per cent in 2016 and remained unchanged in 2018 (arithmetic average). However, across the entire public sector (Confederation, cantons and communes), the gender wage gap has widened: it amounted to an average of 18.1 per cent in 2018 while it was only at 16.7 per cent in 2016. It also notes that, according to the study of the explanatory variable component and the unexplained differential component in wage differentials, based on the Oaxaca model, the unexplained component (that is the component that is not based on objective factors, such as personal history – age, training, years of service, the nature of the post occupied in the enterprise or field of work) of gender wage gaps in the private sector rose to 44.3 per cent in 2018, while it was only at 42.9 per cent in 2016 and 39.1 per cent in 2014. Across the public sector it progressed to 37.2 per cent in 2018, while it was only at 34.8 per cent in 2016, but had been at 41.7 per cent in 2014. With regard to combating stereotypes, the Committee welcomes the Equality Strategy 2030, adopted on 28 April 2021 by the Federal Council (2021-2023), which includes among its objectives the elimination of the unconscious stereotypes and prejudices that determine the roles of women and men in the family and in society, in particular by providing information, awareness and training in all areas, especially institutional, to help prevent discrimination, sexism and gender stereotypes by establishing the pertinent facts in all areas and conducting monitoring activities. In this regard, it notes that the Equality Strategy 2030 is also aimed at achieving a better work/life balance. Noting once again that the gender wage gap remains significant in the country and is only changing very slowly and that the unexplained variable component has increased in both the private and public sectors, the Committee requests the Government to provide information, including statistics, on the implementation of measures under the Equality Strategy 2030 to combat the causes of the wage gaps, including gender stereotyping leading to gender-based occupational segregation, and on the difficulties encountered, principally by women, in reconciling professional and family responsibilities. It also requests the Government to: (i) continue to evaluate the differential, including the unexplained differential component; (ii) examine the reasons why the unexplained differential component continues to rise to be able to formulate appropriate measures; and (iii) provide information on developments in the wage gaps.

Measures aimed at promoting equal wages for men and women for work of equal value. Development in legislation. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government with its report. It notes with interest the revision of the Federal Gender Equality Act (LEg), which now requires employers to carry out wage equality analyses (section 13(a) to 13(i) LEg). With the entry into force of this amendment on 1 July 2020, employers in the public and private sector with a staff of 100 or more workers must conduct regular analyses of wage equality, which are to be verified by a third party. The results of the analyses must be communicated to the staff and, in the public sector, published. The Committee also notes that employers are exempted from further wage analyses if, following the analysis, they show that they respect wage equality; and that on 21 August 2019 the Federal Council adopted the Ordinance concerning verification of the wage equality analysis regulating, inter alia, the training of persons responsible for reviewing the wage equality analysis and modalities for verification of the analysis in respect of Confederation staff. The Committee also notes with interest that: (1) the Equality Strategy 2030 includes among its objectives the elimination of wage discrimination in the public and private sectors; and (2) according to a revision of the Public Procurement Act (LMP) and of the Public Procurement Ordinance that came into force on 1 January 2021, public contracts for services in Switzerland are only awarded to tenderers that respect “gender equality in wages”; this requirement can be verified by the adjudicator or a third party delegated to that end and, the tenderer must provide the necessary evidence, on request. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Confederation places, free of charge, a standard online analysis tool, a modernized version of the Logib tool, at the employers’ disposal for the wage equality analysis, with a module especially developed for small enterprises (2-49 workers). Finally, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Charter for equal public sector wages, launched in 2016, was signed by the Confederation, 16 cantons and 113 communes, and 62 organizations close to the public sector, and that the results of the monitoring of wage equality in the public sector from 2016 to 2019 show that the Government’s commitment to wage equality has made itself felt in all regions of Switzerland and has been strengthened. Welcoming the continued efforts and the progress achieved in respect of policy and legislation to promote equal wages in the public and private sectors, in particular the development of procedures to analyse and monitor remuneration, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in practice to promote equal remuneration in respect of workers, employers and their organizations, managers of the staff of the administration and public service, especially within the framework of the Equality Strategy 2030, and on the results obtained in reducing wage gaps. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on measures taken with regard to public procurement.

Article 4. Collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee requests the Government to indicate measures taken or envisaged with a view to collaborating with employers’ and workers’ organizations in respect of wage equality and on initiatives carried out in this connection.