Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Pakistan (Ratification: 2001)

Articles 1(b)and 2(2)(a) of the Convention. Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee recalls its previous comment according to which the Draft of the Employment and Service Conditions Act has a provision on equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value. It notes from the Government’s report that this draft has been almost finalized in tripartite consultation at the federal level and was discussed on the provincial level, but has not been promulgated yet. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any legislative developments regarding the Employment and Service Conditions Act, or any other legislation that would carry similar mandate on the federal and provincial levels in the private and public sectors.

Article 2(2)(a) and (b). Determination of minimum wages. Legislation. The Committee recalls that the setting of minimum wages is an important means by which the Convention is applied and helps to raise the earnings of the lowest paid, thereby having an influence on the relationship between men and women’s wages and on reducing the gender pay gap, as women predominate in low-wage employment. It further recalls that due to 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 (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 683). In this regard, the Committee recalls the adoption of a series of provincial minimum wages acts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2013, in Sindh in 2015, in Punjab in 2019 and in Balochistan in 2021. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that minimum wages boards are tripartite and appointed by the Provincial Governments. The Committee asks the Government to ensure that the minimum wage setting process at the provincial level :

• (i)is free from gender bias;
• (ii)is based on objective job evaluation;
• (iii)takes into account the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value; and
• (iv)does not undervalued the value of jobs where women are over represented.

The Committee asks requests the Government to provide information on provincial minimum wage pay scales by sector of the economy.

Enforcement. The Government indicates that Provincial Labour Departments (PLDs) are mandated to implement labour legislation through regular inspections of areas under their jurisdiction. The PLDs pay special attention inter alia to the elimination of gender-based discrimination, including gender-based wage discrimination. Labour inspectors are responsible to investigate cases of violation of minimum wage payment and when violation is found, it is reported to the respective courts of competent jurisdiction (Labour Courts and Appellate Tribunals), decided on merits and defaulters are fined accordingly. The Committee welcomes the Government’s indication that measures are taken to strengthen enforcement mechanisms, such as training of labour inspectors, awareness-raising activities, dissemination of information on compliance with the Convention. The Committee also notes the information regarding the work of the federal and provincial Ombudsmen. Recalling the importance of continuous efforts to enforce the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, the Committee asks the Government to provide information regarding the number and the issue of cases of unequal remuneration detected by the labour inspectors and dealt with by the Provincial Labour Departments, the Ombudsmen and the courts, in light of the newly adopted provincial labour law legislations. It asks the Government to continue providing information on any awareness-raising activities carried out to promote equal remuneration for work of equal value and to indicate whether such activities have been undertaken together or in consultation with, employers’ and workers’ organizations.