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

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

Legislative developments. Provinces. The Committee notes with interest the recent enactment of numerous labour laws in Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh provinces, such as the Sindh Payment of Wages Act, 2015 (Sindh Act No. VI of 2017), the Sindh Minimum Wages Act, 2015 (Act No. VIII of 2016), the Punjab Minimum Wages Act, 2019 (Act No. XXVIII of 2019), the Balochistan Minimum Wages Act, 2021 (Act No. X of 2021), the Balochistan Payment of Wages Act, 2021 (Act No. XIII of 2021), as a result of the 18th Constitutional Amendment adopted in 2010 devolving the subject of labour to the provinces while the responsibility of coordination of labour-related issues still lies with the Federal Government. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on any legislative developments concerning wages and equal remuneration for men and women which give effect to the Convention.

Articles 1–4 of the Convention. Assessing and addressing the gender pay gap. The Committee notes that, according to the Global Wage Report 2018/19 published by the ILO, the mean hourly gender pay gap in Pakistan is 34 per cent and women account for almost 90 per cent of wage earners in the bottom 1 per cent but just 9 per cent in the top 1 per cent. The Committee asks the Government to collect and compile information disaggregated by sex, on the levels of remuneration of men and women, if possible, by sector of the economy or occupational category, and provide them together with any available information on the gender pay gap. It further asks the Government to take the necessary measures to address the gender pay gap, in particular measures to address gender occupational segregation, and refers in this regard to its comments under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111).

Articles 1(a) and 2(2)(a). Definition of remuneration.Legislation. The Committee notes that section 2(1)(xix) of the Sindh Payment of Wages Act, 2015 and section 2(o) of the Balochistan Payment of Wages Act, 2021, define “wages” as including “basic pay and statutory and non-statutory allowances”, but excludes any contribution paid by the employer to any pension fund or provident fund, any travelling allowance or the value of travelling concession, any sum paid to defray special expenses, any annual bonus or any sums payable on discharge. In its previous observations, the Committee also noted that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Payment of Wages Act, 2013 (Act No. IX of 2013) had a similar definition of “wages”. The Committee recalls that Article 1(a) of the Convention, for the purpose of implementing the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, provides a broad definition of “remuneration” which includes not only the ordinary, basic or minimum wage or salary, but also “any additional emoluments whatsoever payable directly or indirectly by the employer to the worker and arising out of the worker’s employment”. This definition also captures payments or benefits whether received regularly or only occasionally. It covers among others cost-of-living allowances, dependency allowances, travel allowances, housing and residential allowances, vacation allowances as well as allowances paid under social security schemes financed by the undertaking or industry concerned (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 686, 687 and 691–692). In order to fully apply the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, the Committee requests the Government to ensure that the provincial governments of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces: (i) take into account all the elements included in the definition of “remuneration”, in accordance with Article 1(a) of the Convention, including emoluments “payable directly or indirectly, whether in cash or in kind, by the employer to the worker and arising out of the worker’s employment”; and (ii) envisage amending the above laws accordingly.

Articles 1(b) and 2(2)(a). Equal remuneration for work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee notes with interest that the Balochistan Payment of Wages Act, 2021, includes provisions on equal remuneration for the same work or work of a similar nature and work of equal value (section 7) and defines work of equal value(section 2(p)). The Committee notes however that other provincial labour laws previously adopted, such as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Payment of Wages Act, 2013, and the Sindh Payment of Wages Act, 2015, do not contain any provisions on equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. Further, the Committee notes that section 21 of the Punjab Minimum Wages Act, 2019, and section 18 of the Sindh Minimum Wages Act, 2015, prohibit wage discrimination based on sex. The Committee urges the Government to ensure that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Payment of Wages Act, 2013 and the Sindh Payment of Wages Act, 2015, as well as other any other provincial acts on wages, are amended to give full expression the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the implementation of the Balochistan Payment of Wages Act, 2021, and its impact on the elimination of the gender wage gap in the province.

Articles 2 and 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee recalls that, in its previous observation, it encouraged the Government to take measures to ensure that objective job evaluation on the basis of the work performed is integrated into any new provincial labour legislation. In that regard, the Committee notes with interest that the Balochistan Minimum Wages Act, 2021, defines “job appraisal scheme” as “the scheme evolved and introduced by the industry concerned with the approval of the Government for objective appraisal for determination of wage differentials without regard to sex, to ensure the enforcement of the principle of equal remuneration for male and female workers for work of equal value”. It also provides that a comprehensive objective job evaluation scheme “shall in particular take care of gender equality in matters regarding equal remuneration for male and female workers for work of equal value” (section 17). The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that the reform of the Minimum Wages Ordinance, 1961, is planned. Concerning the Government’s indication that job evaluation is the prerogative of the employer, the Committee recalls that objective job evaluation is concerned with assessing the relative value of jobs with varying content on the basis of the work to be performed, not the performance of an individual worker carrying out his or her job. It is a systematic process which, through analysing the content of different jobs, gives a numerical value to each job. Two jobs found to have the same overall numerical value are entitled to equal remuneration. Objective job evaluation is concerned with evaluating the job and not the individual worker (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 696 and 700). The Committee requests the Government: (i) to take measures to ensure that the use of objective job evaluation methods based on work performed is provided for in the provincial labour legislation of Islamabad Capital Territory, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh; and (ii) to provide information on any developments in this regard, including on measures taken to develop and implement objective job appraisal methods for use in both the public and private sectors. It also asks the Government to provide information, including statistical data, on the implementation of the Balochistan Minimum Wages Act, 2021, sections 2(i) and 17 in practice.

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