Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Nepal (Ratification: 1976)

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Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Addressing the gender pay gap and its underlying causes. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to a study undertaken in collaboration with the ILO and UN Women on the care economy in Nepal which highlighted the need for more investment in care services in order to address gender inequalities in the labour market. With regard to the measures adopted or envisaged to address some of the causes underlying the gender pay gap, the Committee also refers to its comments under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111). The Committee furthermore notes that a new labour survey will be conducted in 2024. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated statistical information on the earnings of men and women, disaggregated by economic activity and occupation, in both the public and private sectors, as well as in the informal economy, once the results of the new labour survey are available. It also encourages the Government to undertake, in collaboration with the social partners and other interested groups, such as women’s and girls’ organizations, a study on the nature and extent of the gender pay gap in the formal and informal economies taking into account, to the extent possible, intersecting factors, and the main underlying causes of pay differentials with a view to designing targeted measures to tackle them and monitoring their impact. The Committee recalls that the Government can avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO in this regard.

Article 2(2)(b). Minimum wages. The Committee refers to its previous comments in which it noted that the minimum wage for workers in tea estates fixed by the Ministry of Labour and Employment under section 106 of the Labour Act of 2017, was lower than the general minimum wage and asked the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken to ensure that, in setting minimum wages for workers in tea estates and for other workers, rates were fixed based on objective criteria, free from gender bias, to ensure that the work in sectors with a high proportion of women is not being undervalued in comparison with sectors in which men are predominantly employed. The Committee notes the Government’s explanation that the minimum wage for workers in tea estates was established based on the recommendations of the Minimum Remuneration Fixation Committee and consultations held with employers and workers’ representative organizations. It indicates that women have not been discriminated. The Committee also notes that the general minimum wage and the minimum wage for workers in tea estates were revised in August 2023 taking into account the consumer price index, economic conditions, productivity and employers’ capacity to pay wages. The Committee recalls that the setting of minimum wages is an important means by which the Convention is applied. However, when minimum wages are set at the sectoral level, there is a tendency to set lower wages for sectors predominantly employing women. Due to such occupational segregation, 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. The Committee also wishes to underscore that it is important for governments, in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to examine the functioning of the mechanisms for the setting of minimum wages in the light of the need to promote and ensure the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 682, 684–85). The Committee, therefore, requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that the principle of the Convention is reflected in the labours of the Minimum Remuneration Fixation Committee and reiterates its request for statistical information on the percentage of women and men who are paid the minimum wage in tea estates and in other workplaces. Please also continue to provide information on any new developments concerning the establishment of minimum wages, their rates and coverage.

Articles 2(2)(c) and 4. Collective agreements and cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there are no specific clauses on equal remuneration in collective agreements. It also indicates that the Ministry of Labour and Employment has conducted awareness-raising campaigns at industry level on minimum wage and equal remuneration in collaboration with workers and employers. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on any actions taken in collaboration with the social partners to promote the application of the Convention.