Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - India (Ratification: 1958)

Assessment of the gender pay gap. The Committee notes the statistical information on average daily earnings of men and women for 2012–13 provided by the Government with its report. It notes, in particular, from the statistics concerning average earnings in industry that women’s average earnings represent 55.5 per cent of men’s earnings and that the gender pay gap is slightly wider in the public sector (50 per cent of men’s earnings) than in the private sector (59.7 per cent of men’s earnings). It also notes from the recent ILO India Wage Report: Wage policies for decent work and inclusive growth (2017) that, while the gender pay gap can be observed among all types of workers, that is, regular and casual, as well as urban and rural, the average daily wages of casual rural women workers are the lowest. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that research is being undertaken by the Centre for Gender and Labour of the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI) on the gender pay gap. The Committee asks the Government to provide the results of the research undertaken by the VVGNLI on the causes of the gender pay gap once they are available and to indicate the measures taken or envisaged as a follow-up in cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations, including with regard to workers in rural areas and in the informal economy. The Government is also asked to provide information on any specific measures adopted or envisaged to ensure in practice the application of the principle of the Convention to all workers, including men and women in the informal economy, and their impact on reducing remuneration differentials between men and women. It is also requested to continue providing statistical information, disaggregated by sex, on the distribution of men and women in the different sectors and occupations and their corresponding earnings.

Article 2 of the Convention. Minimum wages. The Committee refers to its previous comments concerning the ongoing elaboration of a bill to amend the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, with a view to making the “national floor level minimum wage” (NFLMW) statutory, including for unskilled workers. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the bill is still under consideration. According to the Government’s report, the amendments to the Minimum Wages Act will extend the scope of application of the Act to all employment and will allow the fixing of minimum wages for different categories of work based on the “skills required, the arduousness of the work assigned to the worker, the cost of living of the worker, geographical location of the place of work and other factors which the state Government considers appropriate”. The Government also indicates that the Minimum Wages Act does not provide for any discrimination between men and women workers or different minimum wages for them. While noting this information, the Committee wishes to emphasize that the fact that regulations determining the minimum wage do not make a distinction between men and women is not sufficient to ensure that there is no gender bias in the process. The Committee recalls that special attention is needed in the design or adjustment of sectoral minimum wage schemes to ensure that the rates fixed are free from gender bias, and in particular, that certain skills considered to be “female” are not undervalued (see General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 683). The Committee further notes from the recent ILO India Wage Report that, given the over-representation of women in low-paying jobs, extending the legal coverage of minimum wages beyond workers in “scheduled occupations” may contribute significantly to addressing current inequalities. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any progress made in the adoption of the bill to make the NFLMW mandatory. It also once again asks the Government to indicate whether any other State governments have included domestic work as a category of scheduled employment under the Minimum Wages Act and to provide information on any steps taken or envisaged, in the context of minimum wages reform, to assess the extent to which rates are fixed based on objective criteria free from gender bias and, in particular, that sector-specific wages do not result in the undervaluation of jobs predominantly occupied by women in comparison to those occupied by men. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate the follow-up given to the recommendations in the ILO India Wage Report to improve the minimum wage policy, particularly by extending legal coverage beyond workers in “scheduled occupations” and simplifying the minimum wage structure.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. In its previous comments, the Committee recalled that, in the follow-up to the conclusions of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2010, the participants at the tripartite workshop on the Equal Remuneration Act (ERA), 1976, held in February 2012, recommended the development of a technical tool to assist constituents towards the progressive implementation of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and to build their capacity to undertake objective job evaluation free from gender bias. In the absence of any information in this regard, the Committee once again asks the Government to take proactive steps, in cooperation with workers and employers’ organizations, to develop technical tools for objective job evaluation with a view to effectively applying the principle of the Convention and to provide information in this respect. The Committee also reminds the Government of the possibility of availing itself of ILO technical assistance to this end.

Parts III–V of the report form. Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that special inspection programmes directed at the unorganized sector were launched in 2016 by the Office of the Chief Labour Commissioner, under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. As a result, the number of irregularities detected regarding the enforcement of the ERA have increased significantly. According to the information provided by the Government in its report, 2,074 inspections were conducted in 2016 and 3,546 irregularities detected, of which 2,115 were rectified. The Committee asks the Government to undertake an in-depth analysis of the violations detected with a view to determining the necessary measures to adopt in order to strengthen the application of the legislation giving effect to the Convention, both at the central level and the level of state governments. The Committee also asks the Government to continue providing information on the activities of the labour inspectorate related to the application of the principle of the Convention and to supply information on the number, nature and outcome of relevant complaints addressed by judicial and administrative bodies.

Awareness raising. Recalling the importance of ensuring that the principle of the Convention and the pertinent national legislation is known and understood among workers and employers, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the training programmes and awareness-raising activities undertaken specifically on the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and the relevant national legislation, as well as the available complaints procedures, including for the unorganized sector.