180. Concerning questions on women’s wages, the representative stated that, according to the Main Statistical Office. women on average earned less than men because, inter alig, job evaluation principles as determined by the Council of Ministers in 1987-1988 had not been universally applied. The Main Statistical Office did not incorporate a gender category in its statistics related to wages for comparable posts; however , women had not been employed in Moreover, women’s availability had been highly paid occupations and posts. lower than that of men because of their double burden. The difference between wages for women and men had been estimated at 30 per cent in 1988 and The improvement had resulted from uniform principleo of 21 per cent in 1989. job evaluation, based exclusively on performance. Regarding a question on legal measures, the representative answered that women had the right to appeal to the labour and social court if they felt they were being disariminated against on gender grounds with regard to wages. In reply to a question on flexible hours, the representative stated that, despite the demands of women’6 groups, flexible hours of work had not been applied. 169. The representative stated that, although the present system of classifying jobs according to gender had been reviewed, it was not expected to change soon. Such classifications had been applied because of the differences in eduaation and skills between men and women and the fact that some jobs were barred to women for health reasons under international conventions. The practices of the Main Statistical Office were purely methodological and had no practical connotations. Members suggested that such statistical practices should be droPped as they did indeed have practical consequences. 190. With regard to a question on the situation of women of pensionable age, the representative stated that the situation of both men and women had been difficult and that a study focusing specifically on the situation of women would probably be undertaken by the Office of the Government Plenipotentiary. 191. Replying to a question regarding child-care facilities, tha representative stated that nurseries and kindergartens were generally available. The 1 per cent decrease in the number of children attending kindergartens in the period 1988189 had been attributed to the increase fees and to the lack of clear principles for subsidising kindergartens. of 192. Regarding questions under article 12 I she stated that domestic violence and drunkenness had seriously affected Woman’s equality. Domestic violence, and acts of violence against women committed under the independent of gender, influence of alcohol were regarded as crimes and had been subject to public prosecution. Drunkenness in the family could be subject to external including compulsory medical treatment in special health centres, intervention, 193. Regarding article 12, in response to questions concerning abortion and sex education, the representative said that an amendment had been requested by certain Cat.holfc circles , which had recently acquired significant political In the influence end demanded the general protection of an unborn child. opinion of many persons, however, there was no need to amend the existing 1956 abortion law that allowed abortion on medical grounds, on account of the %Aifficult living conditions” of a pregnant woman or if the pregnancy had resulted from a criminal act. The issue of abortion was controversial both within and outside the Seym. Some people hnd demanded that a referendum be held on the issue of abortion: others that a woman seeking an abortion, and -37-