Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Thailand (Ratification: 1999)

Article 1 of the Convention. Work of equal value. Legislation. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 53 of the Labour Protection Act of 2008, in providing only equal wages in cases where men and women perform work of the same nature, quality and quantity, did not fully reflect the principle of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare has set up a working group to revise the Labour Protection Act, which will take into consideration the definitions of the terms “remuneration” and the terms “equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value”, as provided by the Convention. The Committee hopes that the necessary steps will soon be taken to amend section 53 of the Labour Protection Act of 2008 in order to include the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value explicitly, and requests the Government to report on the progress made in this regard. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on any further activities undertaken, in cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations, to promote the principle of the Convention in the public and the private sectors.

Articles 2 and 3. Public sector. The Committee previously noted that the former classification method which divided workers into four occupational clusters (unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and special skilled employees) had been maintained. The Committee notes with regret that once again no further information has been provided on the manner in which it is ensured that the wage determination mechanisms are free from gender bias. The Committee urges the Government to indicate the specific measures taken to ensure that job descriptions and the selection of factors for job evaluation are free from gender bias, and more particularly with regard to employees working in the public service who are not public officials. The Committee also requests the Government to provide statistical data, disaggregated by sex, on the distribution and remuneration of men and women in the various groups of the compensation schedule.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request directly addressed to the Government.