Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

1. Further to its observation, the Committee asks the Government to provide additional information on the following points.

2. Article 1 of the Convention. Equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee notes that section 15 of the West Pakistan Minimum Wage Rules, 1962, provides that "in fixing minimum rates of wages, the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value shall be applied". The Committee asks the Government to provide information on how section 15 of West Pakistan Minimum Wage Rules, 1962, is applied in practice and on any measures taken or envisaged to adopt equal remuneration provisions in accordance with the Convention at the federal level with a view to ensuring that the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value is applied to all workers and in respect to all aspects of remuneration, as defined in Article 1(a) of the Convention.

3. Definition of remuneration. The Committee notes that the Minimum Wage Ordinance, 1961, excludes certain payments from the definition of wages. In this regard, the Committee notes that the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value as contained in the Convention applies to all aspects of remuneration, including the basic or minimum wage and any other emoluments whatsoever, payable directly or indirectly, whether in cash or in kind, by the employer to the worker and arising out of the worker’s employment (Article 1(a)). Under the Convention, equality must therefore be ensured also in respect to contributions paid by the employers to social security schemes, allowances, bonuses and other benefits. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure, in law and in practice, that all aspects of remuneration are paid to men and women on an equal basis.

4. Article 2 of the Convention. Minimum wages. In addition to the Minimum Wage Ordinance, 1991, the Committee notes the West Pakistan Minimum Wages Rules, 1962, and the Pakistan Minimum Wages for Unskilled Workers Ordinance, 1969. The Committee asks the Government to provide a detailed list of the federal and provincial laws and regulations concerning remuneration currently in force, as well as copies of the decisions regarding minimum wage rates for the various categories of workers.

5. Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that, in the public sector, evaluation of employees was done through annual confidential reports. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that, in referring to objective appraisal of jobs, the Convention envisages the adoption of methods to evaluate the value of jobs on the basis of the work performed, i.e. the content of the job. Such evaluations should be based on objective criteria unrelated to the worker’s sex, such as the level of skills or qualifications required, responsibilities, working conditions or the complexity of the tasks involved. Objective job evaluation is an important tool to ensure that remuneration rates are determined in accordance with the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value. The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate what methods have been adopted to promote an objective evaluation of jobs on the basis of the work performed in the private and public sectors.

6. Article 4. Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee understands that the Government collaborated closely with the social partner in the preparation of its Labour Policy, 2002, and the Labour Protection Policy, 2005. It asks the Government to continue to provide information on its cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations with a view to giving effect to the provisions of the Convention.

7. Part V of the report form. Statistical information. The Committee asks the Government to provide statistical information on remuneration, disaggregated by sex, and as far as possible, in accordance with the Committee’s general observation of 1998 (attached for ease of reference).