diff --git a/python/header-py.c b/python/header-py.c
index 628b485..0d7af2e 100644
--- a/python/header-py.c
+++ b/python/header-py.c
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ static PyObject * hdrFormat(hdrObject * s, PyObject * args, PyObject * kwds)
 	return NULL;
     }
 
-    result = Py_BuildValue("s", r);
+    result = utf8FromString(r);
     free(r);
 
     return result;
diff --git a/python/rpmds-py.c b/python/rpmds-py.c
index 9eae9a2..584e41c 100644
--- a/python/rpmds-py.c
+++ b/python/rpmds-py.c
@@ -31,19 +31,19 @@ rpmds_Ix(rpmdsObject * s)
 static PyObject *
 rpmds_DNEVR(rpmdsObject * s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmdsDNEVR(s->ds));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmdsDNEVR(s->ds));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
 rpmds_N(rpmdsObject * s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmdsN(s->ds));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmdsN(s->ds));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
 rpmds_EVR(rpmdsObject * s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmdsEVR(s->ds));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmdsEVR(s->ds));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ rpmds_subscript(rpmdsObject * s, PyObject * key)
 
     ix = (int) PyInt_AsLong(key);
     rpmdsSetIx(s->ds, ix);
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmdsDNEVR(s->ds));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmdsDNEVR(s->ds));
 }
 
 static PyMappingMethods rpmds_as_mapping = {
diff --git a/python/rpmfd-py.c b/python/rpmfd-py.c
index 85fb0cd..4b05cce 100644
--- a/python/rpmfd-py.c
+++ b/python/rpmfd-py.c
@@ -327,17 +327,17 @@ static PyObject *rpmfd_get_closed(rpmfdObject *s)
 static PyObject *rpmfd_get_name(rpmfdObject *s)
 {
     /* XXX: rpm returns non-paths with [mumble], python files use <mumble> */
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", Fdescr(s->fd));
+    return utf8FromString(Fdescr(s->fd));
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmfd_get_mode(rpmfdObject *s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", s->mode);
+    return utf8FromString(s->mode);
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmfd_get_flags(rpmfdObject *s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", s->flags);
+    return utf8FromString(s->flags);
 }
 
 static PyGetSetDef rpmfd_getseters[] = {
diff --git a/python/rpmfi-py.c b/python/rpmfi-py.c
index a1a743a..68eb5ce 100644
--- a/python/rpmfi-py.c
+++ b/python/rpmfi-py.c
@@ -41,19 +41,19 @@ rpmfi_DX(rpmfiObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 static PyObject *
 rpmfi_BN(rpmfiObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfiBN(s->fi));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfiBN(s->fi));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
 rpmfi_DN(rpmfiObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfiDN(s->fi));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfiDN(s->fi));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
 rpmfi_FN(rpmfiObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfiFN(s->fi));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfiFN(s->fi));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ rpmfi_Digest(rpmfiObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
     char *digest = rpmfiFDigestHex(s->fi, NULL);
     if (digest) {
-	PyObject *dig = Py_BuildValue("s", digest);
+	PyObject *dig = utf8FromString(digest);
 	free(digest);
 	return dig;
     } else {
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ rpmfi_Digest(rpmfiObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 static PyObject *
 rpmfi_FLink(rpmfiObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfiFLink(s->fi));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfiFLink(s->fi));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
@@ -133,13 +133,13 @@ rpmfi_FMtime(rpmfiObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 static PyObject *
 rpmfi_FUser(rpmfiObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfiFUser(s->fi));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfiFUser(s->fi));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
 rpmfi_FGroup(rpmfiObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfiFGroup(s->fi));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfiFGroup(s->fi));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ rpmfi_FClass(rpmfiObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 
     if ((FClass = rpmfiFClass(s->fi)) == NULL)
 	FClass = "";
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", FClass);
+    return utf8FromString(FClass);
 }
 
 static PyObject *
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ rpmfi_iternext(rpmfiObject * s)
 	    Py_INCREF(Py_None);
 	    PyTuple_SET_ITEM(result, 0, Py_None);
 	} else
-	    PyTuple_SET_ITEM(result,  0, Py_BuildValue("s", FN));
+	    PyTuple_SET_ITEM(result,  0, utf8FromString(FN));
 	PyTuple_SET_ITEM(result,  1, PyLong_FromLongLong(FSize));
 	PyTuple_SET_ITEM(result,  2, PyInt_FromLong(FMode));
 	PyTuple_SET_ITEM(result,  3, PyInt_FromLong(FMtime));
@@ -222,12 +222,12 @@ rpmfi_iternext(rpmfiObject * s)
 	    Py_INCREF(Py_None);
 	    PyTuple_SET_ITEM(result, 10, Py_None);
 	} else
-	    PyTuple_SET_ITEM(result, 10, Py_BuildValue("s", FUser));
+	    PyTuple_SET_ITEM(result, 10, utf8FromString(FUser));
 	if (FGroup == NULL) {
 	    Py_INCREF(Py_None);
 	    PyTuple_SET_ITEM(result, 11, Py_None);
 	} else
-	    PyTuple_SET_ITEM(result, 11, Py_BuildValue("s", FGroup));
+	    PyTuple_SET_ITEM(result, 11, utf8FromString(FGroup));
 	PyTuple_SET_ITEM(result, 12, rpmfi_Digest(s, NULL));
 
     } else
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ rpmfi_subscript(rpmfiObject * s, PyObject * key)
 
     ix = (int) PyInt_AsLong(key);
     rpmfiSetFX(s->fi, ix);
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfiFN(s->fi));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfiFN(s->fi));
 }
 
 static PyMappingMethods rpmfi_as_mapping = {
diff --git a/python/rpmfiles-py.c b/python/rpmfiles-py.c
index d69d1f2..edb1694 100644
--- a/python/rpmfiles-py.c
+++ b/python/rpmfiles-py.c
@@ -41,37 +41,37 @@ static PyObject *rpmfile_dx(rpmfileObject *s)
 static PyObject *rpmfile_name(rpmfileObject *s)
 {
     char * fn = rpmfilesFN(s->files, s->ix);
-    PyObject *o = Py_BuildValue("s", fn);
+    PyObject *o = utf8FromString(fn);
     free(fn);
     return o;
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmfile_basename(rpmfileObject *s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfilesBN(s->files, s->ix));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfilesBN(s->files, s->ix));
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmfile_dirname(rpmfileObject *s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfilesDN(s->files, rpmfilesDI(s->files, s->ix)));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfilesDN(s->files, rpmfilesDI(s->files, s->ix)));
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmfile_orig_name(rpmfileObject *s)
 {
     char * fn = rpmfilesOFN(s->files, s->ix);
-    PyObject *o = Py_BuildValue("s", fn);
+    PyObject *o = utf8FromString(fn);
     free(fn);
     return o;
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmfile_orig_basename(rpmfileObject *s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfilesOBN(s->files, s->ix));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfilesOBN(s->files, s->ix));
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmfile_orig_dirname(rpmfileObject *s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfilesODN(s->files, rpmfilesODI(s->files, s->ix)));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfilesODN(s->files, rpmfilesODI(s->files, s->ix)));
 }
 static PyObject *rpmfile_mode(rpmfileObject *s)
 {
@@ -105,17 +105,17 @@ static PyObject *rpmfile_nlink(rpmfileObject *s)
 
 static PyObject *rpmfile_linkto(rpmfileObject *s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfilesFLink(s->files, s->ix));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfilesFLink(s->files, s->ix));
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmfile_user(rpmfileObject *s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfilesFUser(s->files, s->ix));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfilesFUser(s->files, s->ix));
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmfile_group(rpmfileObject *s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfilesFGroup(s->files, s->ix));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfilesFGroup(s->files, s->ix));
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmfile_fflags(rpmfileObject *s)
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ static PyObject *rpmfile_digest(rpmfileObject *s)
 						  NULL, &diglen);
     if (digest) {
 	char * hex = pgpHexStr(digest, diglen);
-	PyObject *o = Py_BuildValue("s", hex);
+	PyObject *o = utf8FromString(hex);
 	free(hex);
 	return o;
     }
@@ -154,17 +154,17 @@ static PyObject *rpmfile_digest(rpmfileObject *s)
 
 static PyObject *rpmfile_class(rpmfileObject *s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfilesFClass(s->files, s->ix));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfilesFClass(s->files, s->ix));
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmfile_caps(rpmfileObject *s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfilesFCaps(s->files, s->ix));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfilesFCaps(s->files, s->ix));
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmfile_langs(rpmfileObject *s)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmfilesFLangs(s->files, s->ix));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmfilesFLangs(s->files, s->ix));
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmfile_links(rpmfileObject *s)
diff --git a/python/rpmkeyring-py.c b/python/rpmkeyring-py.c
index d5f131e..8968e05 100644
--- a/python/rpmkeyring-py.c
+++ b/python/rpmkeyring-py.c
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ static PyObject *rpmPubkey_new(PyTypeObject *subtype,
 static PyObject * rpmPubkey_Base64(rpmPubkeyObject *s)
 {
     char *b64 = rpmPubkeyBase64(s->pubkey);
-    PyObject *res = Py_BuildValue("s", b64);
+    PyObject *res = utf8FromString(b64);
     free(b64);
     return res;
 }
diff --git a/python/rpmmacro-py.c b/python/rpmmacro-py.c
index 3cb1a51..d8a3655 100644
--- a/python/rpmmacro-py.c
+++ b/python/rpmmacro-py.c
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ rpmmacro_ExpandMacro(PyObject * self, PyObject * args, PyObject * kwds)
 	if (rpmExpandMacros(NULL, macro, &str, 0) < 0)
 	    PyErr_SetString(pyrpmError, "error expanding macro");
 	else
-	    res = Py_BuildValue("s", str);
+	    res = utf8FromString(str);
 	free(str);
     }
     return res;
diff --git a/python/rpmmodule.c b/python/rpmmodule.c
index c27952c..f822c2c 100644
--- a/python/rpmmodule.c
+++ b/python/rpmmodule.c
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ static void addRpmTags(PyObject *module)
 
 	PyModule_AddIntConstant(module, tagname, tagval);
 	pyval = PyInt_FromLong(tagval);
-	pyname = Py_BuildValue("s", shortname);
+	pyname = utf8FromString(shortname);
 	PyDict_SetItem(dict, pyval, pyname);
 	Py_DECREF(pyval);
 	Py_DECREF(pyname);
diff --git a/python/rpmps-py.c b/python/rpmps-py.c
index bdc899a..902b2ae 100644
--- a/python/rpmps-py.c
+++ b/python/rpmps-py.c
@@ -18,12 +18,12 @@ static PyObject *rpmprob_get_type(rpmProblemObject *s, void *closure)
 
 static PyObject *rpmprob_get_pkgnevr(rpmProblemObject *s, void *closure)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmProblemGetPkgNEVR(s->prob));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmProblemGetPkgNEVR(s->prob));
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmprob_get_altnevr(rpmProblemObject *s, void *closure)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmProblemGetAltNEVR(s->prob));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmProblemGetAltNEVR(s->prob));
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmprob_get_key(rpmProblemObject *s, void *closure)
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ static PyObject *rpmprob_get_key(rpmProblemObject *s, void *closure)
 
 static PyObject *rpmprob_get_str(rpmProblemObject *s, void *closure)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmProblemGetStr(s->prob));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmProblemGetStr(s->prob));
 }
 
 static PyObject *rpmprob_get_num(rpmProblemObject *s, void *closure)
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ static PyGetSetDef rpmprob_getseters[] = {
 static PyObject *rpmprob_str(rpmProblemObject *s)
 {
     char *str = rpmProblemString(s->prob);
-    PyObject *res = Py_BuildValue("s", str);
+    PyObject *res = utf8FromString(str);
     free(str);
     return res;
 }
diff --git a/python/rpmstrpool-py.c b/python/rpmstrpool-py.c
index 356bd1d..a56e2b5 100644
--- a/python/rpmstrpool-py.c
+++ b/python/rpmstrpool-py.c
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ static PyObject *strpool_id2str(rpmstrPoolObject *s, PyObject *item)
 	const char *str = rpmstrPoolStr(s->pool, id);
 
 	if (str)
-	    ret = PyBytes_FromString(str);
+	    ret = utf8FromString(str);
 	else 
 	    PyErr_SetObject(PyExc_KeyError, item);
     }
diff --git a/python/rpmsystem-py.h b/python/rpmsystem-py.h
index c8423e3..c55be37 100644
--- a/python/rpmsystem-py.h
+++ b/python/rpmsystem-py.h
@@ -52,4 +52,11 @@ typedef Py_ssize_t (*lenfunc)(PyObject *);
 #define PyInt_AsSsize_t PyLong_AsSsize_t
 #endif
 
+/* In Python 3, we return all strings as surrogate-escaped utf-8 */
+#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
+#define utf8FromString(_s) PyUnicode_DecodeUTF8(_s, strlen(_s), "surrogateescape")
+#else
+#define utf8FromString(_s) PyBytes_FromString(_s)
+#endif
+
 #endif	/* H_SYSTEM_PYTHON */
diff --git a/python/rpmtd-py.c b/python/rpmtd-py.c
index 247c750..23ca105 100644
--- a/python/rpmtd-py.c
+++ b/python/rpmtd-py.c
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ PyObject * rpmtd_ItemAsPyobj(rpmtd td, rpmTagClass tclass)
 
     switch (tclass) {
     case RPM_STRING_CLASS:
-	res = PyBytes_FromString(rpmtdGetString(td));
+	res = utf8FromString(rpmtdGetString(td));
 	break;
     case RPM_NUMERIC_CLASS:
 	res = PyLong_FromLongLong(rpmtdGetNumber(td));
diff --git a/python/rpmte-py.c b/python/rpmte-py.c
index 6936e75..69cda5f 100644
--- a/python/rpmte-py.c
+++ b/python/rpmte-py.c
@@ -56,49 +56,49 @@ rpmte_TEType(rpmteObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 static PyObject *
 rpmte_N(rpmteObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmteN(s->te));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmteN(s->te));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
 rpmte_E(rpmteObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmteE(s->te));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmteE(s->te));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
 rpmte_V(rpmteObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmteV(s->te));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmteV(s->te));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
 rpmte_R(rpmteObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmteR(s->te));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmteR(s->te));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
 rpmte_A(rpmteObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmteA(s->te));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmteA(s->te));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
 rpmte_O(rpmteObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmteO(s->te));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmteO(s->te));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
 rpmte_NEVR(rpmteObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmteNEVR(s->te));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmteNEVR(s->te));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
 rpmte_NEVRA(rpmteObject * s, PyObject * unused)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmteNEVRA(s->te));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmteNEVRA(s->te));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
diff --git a/python/rpmts-py.c b/python/rpmts-py.c
index 1ddfc9a..96e3bb2 100644
--- a/python/rpmts-py.c
+++ b/python/rpmts-py.c
@@ -230,8 +230,9 @@ rpmts_SolveCallback(rpmts ts, rpmds ds, const void * data)
 
     PyEval_RestoreThread(cbInfo->_save);
 
-    args = Py_BuildValue("(Oissi)", cbInfo->tso,
-		rpmdsTagN(ds), rpmdsN(ds), rpmdsEVR(ds), rpmdsFlags(ds));
+    args = Py_BuildValue("(OiNNi)", cbInfo->tso,
+		rpmdsTagN(ds), utf8FromString(rpmdsN(ds)),
+		utf8FromString(rpmdsEVR(ds)), rpmdsFlags(ds));
     result = PyEval_CallObject(cbInfo->cb, args);
     Py_DECREF(args);
 
@@ -409,7 +410,7 @@ rpmts_HdrCheck(rpmtsObject * s, PyObject *obj)
     rpmrc = headerCheck(s->ts, uh, uc, &msg);
     Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS;
 
-    return Py_BuildValue("(is)", rpmrc, msg);
+    return Py_BuildValue("(iN)", rpmrc, utf8FromString(msg));
 }
 
 static PyObject *
@@ -500,7 +501,7 @@ rpmtsCallback(const void * hd, const rpmCallbackType what,
     /* Synthesize a python object for callback (if necessary). */
     if (pkgObj == NULL) {
 	if (h) {
-	    pkgObj = Py_BuildValue("s", headerGetString(h, RPMTAG_NAME));
+	    pkgObj = utf8FromString(headerGetString(h, RPMTAG_NAME));
 	} else {
 	    pkgObj = Py_None;
 	    Py_INCREF(pkgObj);
@@ -845,7 +846,7 @@ static PyObject *rpmts_get_tid(rpmtsObject *s, void *closure)
 
 static PyObject *rpmts_get_rootDir(rpmtsObject *s, void *closure)
 {
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", rpmtsRootDir(s->ts));
+    return utf8FromString(rpmtsRootDir(s->ts));
 }
 
 static int rpmts_set_scriptFd(rpmtsObject *s, PyObject *value, void *closure)
diff --git a/python/spec-py.c b/python/spec-py.c
index fa7e589..933c161 100644
--- a/python/spec-py.c
+++ b/python/spec-py.c
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ static PyObject *pkgGetSection(rpmSpecPkg pkg, int section)
 {
     char *sect = rpmSpecPkgGetSection(pkg, section);
     if (sect != NULL) {
-        PyObject *ps = PyBytes_FromString(sect);
+        PyObject *ps = utf8FromString(sect);
         free(sect);
         if (ps != NULL)
             return ps;
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ static PyObject * getSection(rpmSpec spec, int section)
 {
     const char *sect = rpmSpecGetSection(spec, section);
     if (sect) {
-	return Py_BuildValue("s", sect);
+	return utf8FromString(sect);
     }
     Py_RETURN_NONE;
 }
@@ -208,8 +208,8 @@ static PyObject * spec_get_sources(specObject *s, void *closure)
 
     rpmSpecSrcIter iter = rpmSpecSrcIterInit(s->spec);
     while ((source = rpmSpecSrcIterNext(iter)) != NULL) {
-	PyObject *srcUrl = Py_BuildValue("(sii)",
-				rpmSpecSrcFilename(source, 1),
+	PyObject *srcUrl = Py_BuildValue("(Nii)",
+				utf8FromString(rpmSpecSrcFilename(source, 1)),
 				rpmSpecSrcNum(source),
 				rpmSpecSrcFlags(source)); 
         if (!srcUrl) {
diff --git a/tests/local.at b/tests/local.at
index c8b0b19..a72baed 100644
--- a/tests/local.at
+++ b/tests/local.at
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ rm -rf "${abs_builddir}"/testing`rpm --eval '%_dbpath'`/*
 
 m4_define([RPMPY_RUN],[[
 cat << EOF > test.py
+# coding=utf-8
 import rpm, sys
 dbpath=rpm.expandMacro('%_dbpath')
 rpm.addMacro('_dbpath', '${abs_builddir}/testing%s' % dbpath)
diff --git a/tests/rpmpython.at b/tests/rpmpython.at
index de39c84..9692be9 100644
--- a/tests/rpmpython.at
+++ b/tests/rpmpython.at
@@ -107,6 +107,25 @@ None
 'rpm.hdr' object has no attribute '__foo__']
 )
 
+RPMPY_TEST([non-utf8 data in header],[
+str = u'älämölö'
+enc = 'iso-8859-1'
+b = str.encode(enc)
+h = rpm.hdr()
+h['group'] = b
+d = h['group']
+try:
+    # python 3
+    t = bytes(d, 'utf-8', 'surrogateescape')
+except TypeError:
+    # python 2
+    t = bytes(d)
+res = t.decode(enc)
+myprint(str == res)
+],
+[True]
+)
+
 RPMPY_TEST([invalid header data],[
 h1 = rpm.hdr()
 h1['basenames'] = ['bing', 'bang', 'bong']
@@ -126,6 +145,21 @@ for h in [h1, h2]:
 /opt/bing,/opt/bang,/flopt/bong]
 )
 
+RPMPY_TEST([labelCompare],[
+v = '1.0'
+r = '1'
+e = 3
+h = rpm.hdr()
+h['name'] = 'testpkg'
+h['version'] = v
+h['release'] = r
+h['epoch'] = e
+myprint(rpm.labelCompare((str(h['epoch']), h['version'], h['release']),
+			 (str(e), v, r)))
+],
+[0]
+)
+
 RPMPY_TEST([vfyflags API],[
 ts = rpm.ts()
 dlv = ts.getVfyFlags()