CMNT_TITLE

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Sri Lanka (RATIFICATION: 1993)

The Committee notes the observations by Education International (EI) and the All Ceylon Union of Teachers (ACUT) dated 31 August 2012.

Article 2 of the Convention. Palm oil plantations. The Committee recalls the Government’s indication that it had not determined minimum wages for palm oil workers, as the number of workers were relatively small, however, the Department of Labour was looking into the issue. It notes the observations by EI and the ACUT that there is gender wage discrimination mainly in the plantation sector. The Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the steps taken and progress made in determining minimum wages for palm oil workers. The Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the number of workers in the various occupations in the rubber and palm oil plantations, disaggregated by sex. Please provide information on any other measures taken to reduce the gender wage gap in the plantation sector.

Export processing zones. The Committee recalls the Government’s statement that the board of investment determined higher wages for workers in the export processing zones (EPZs) than the minimum wages determined by wage boards. Recalling the concentration of women in lower paid occupations in the EPZs, the Committee again asks the Government to provide more detailed information regarding the process of wage determination in the EPZs, and how the principle of the Convention is taken into account in this process, in particular, with a view to ensuring that the jobs predominantly performed by women are not being undervalued compared to those predominantly performed by men.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee recalls the Government’s indication that the Salary and Cadre Commission, the Administrative Reform Council and the Ministry of Public Administration have taken steps to devise an appropriate framework of job analysis based on the contemporary practices of the public administration. It notes that the Government’s report does not contain updated information in this respect. With respect to objective job evaluation in the private sector, the Committee notes the Government’s request for technical assistance of the ILO in the context of establishing a national minimum wage system. The Committee recalls that it is important to ensure that the job evaluation method used, including in the design or adjusting of sectoral or occupational minimum wage schemes, is free from gender bias and, consequently, that the choice of factors for comparison, the weighting of these factors and the actual comparison carried out are not inherently discriminatory. In particular, it needs to be ensured that certain skills considered to be “female” are not undervalued or even overlooked, in comparison with traditionally “male” skills (General Survey on fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 706). The Committee again asks the Government to provide detailed information on the job evaluation framework developed for the public administration. The Committee asks the Government to take the necessary steps to secure technical assistance on job evaluation, including in the context of minimum wage fixing, and asks the Government to provide information on the concrete steps taken to develop and promote practical approaches and methods for objective job evaluation in the private sector.