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

1. Communications from workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the communication dated 24 August 2005 received from the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) concerning the application of Conventions Nos. 100 and 111. The CITU states that wage discrimination exists in the beedi industry, agriculture, plantation, construction and manufacturing, particularly in the unorganized sector. The CITU considers that the Government is not properly enforcing the Equal Remuneration Act (ERA) and calls for a greater role of trade unions in the implementation of the Act. The Committee notes that the CITU makes three specific proposals: (1) special cells in the labour department could be formed to monitor discrimination on the ground of sex in respect of wages, classification and promotion; (2) female labour officers should be involved systematically in the hearing and deciding of equal pay complaints; (3) trade unions should be authorized to lodge complaints under section 12 of the ERA. The Committee also recalls the comments made by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in 2002 and the National Front of Indian Trade Unions (NFITU) in 2001, also drawing attention to difficulties concerning the application of the Convention and the ERA in the informal economy and the unorganized sector.

2. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Enforcement of equal pay legislation. In its brief report, the Government points out that the central Government was responsible for the enforcement of the ERA only in relation to employment carried out within the central Government or under its authority, and regarding some specific sectors identified in the Act. The majority of establishments and sectors are under the jurisdiction of the respective state governments. The Government’s report indicates that 4,048 inspections conducted in 2002 and 2003 under the ERA in establishments under the responsibility of the central Government revealed 97 cases of unequal wages and 4,246 cases of non-maintenance of registers. In 2003 and 2004, a total of 4,022 inspections revealed 582 cases of unequal wages and 5,025 irregularities concerning non-maintenance of registers. During the same period, 454 complaints were lodged under section 12 of the ERA. The Government also states that high priority is being given to inspections under the Minimum Wage Act and the ERA of establishments in the unorganized sector. Inspectors tried to raise awareness among male and female workers about their rights and were instructed to conduct "relief-oriented" inspections.

3. The Committee notes that the number of violations detected under the ERA in establishments under central government responsibility largely corresponds to the figures reported for previous years. It notes that the Government appears to have adopted a more proactive approach with regard to monitoring compliance with minimum wage and equal pay legislation in the unorganized sector, in accordance with the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002-07) which provides for the reduction of gender pay gaps by at least 50 per cent by 2007. However, on the basis of the very general information provided by the Government, the Committee is not in a position to assess the scope and impact of these efforts. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the number of violations found by labour inspectors under the ERA and complaints brought under section 12 of the Act, including information concerning the nature and outcome of such cases. It asks the Government to provide more detailed information on the strategies and specific measures adopted for implementing minimum wage and equal pay legislation in the informal economy and unorganized sector, and on their implementation and impact in practice. The Government is further urged to take the necessary measures to collect and supply to the Committee information on all these issues in relation to employment within the jurisdiction of the states. The Committee trusts that the Government will engage in a dialogue with workers’ and employers’ organizations with a view to strengthening the application of the Convention and the ERA, and asks the Government to keep it informed of the resulting conclusions and agreements, including those relating to the proposals made by the CITU.

4. Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the CITU’s statement that work traditionally done by women, such as weeding and transplanting in the agricultural sector, is often classified as "light work" which does not correspond to the real nature of the tasks involved. In this regard, the Committee stresses the need to promote the development and use of job classifications established on the basis of the work actually performed, using objective criteria unrelated to the worker’s sex and free from gender bias. It stresses that the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value does not only require the abolition of separate wage rates for men and women but also the elimination of sex-discriminatory job classifications. The Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures taken to promote the use of objective job evaluation methods as a means to determine wage rates irrespective of the worker’s sex.

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