Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Sri Lanka (Ratification: 1993)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.

Repetition

Article 1 of the Convention. Work of equal value. Legislation. The Committee previously expressed concern at the absence of legislation providing for equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, as well as at the limitations of the principle of equal wages for the “same” or “substantially the same” work, arising out of wage ordinances and collective agreements. The Committee notes the Government’s repeated indication, in its report, that while no legislative provision explicitly prohibits discrimination in employment, wage ordinances and collective agreements do not contain discriminatory provisions in determining wages. While noting that the Policy Framework and National Plan of Action to address Sexual and Gender-based Violence for 2016–20, elaborated with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), set as an objective to ensure equal remuneration for “similar work”, the Committee again draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the concept of “work of equal value”, which lies at the heart of the fundamental right of equal remuneration for men and women for equal value, goes beyond equal remuneration for “equal”, “the same” or “similar” work, and also encompasses work that is of an entirely different nature, but which is nevertheless of equal value. It further recalls that when collective agreements or wage ordinances do not explicitly provide for different remuneration rates for men and women or when they only prohibit sex-based wage discrimination generally, this will not normally be sufficient to give effect to the Convention, as it does not fully capture the concept of “work of equal value” set out in the Convention (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 673 and 676). Regretting that unlike the previous National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, the new Human Rights Action Plan for 2017–21 does not include “equal pay for work of equal value” as an explicit objective anymore, the Committee again urges the Government to take all the necessary steps to give full legislative expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and to provide information on any concrete steps taken in this regard.

Articles 1 and 2. Assessment of the gender pay gap. Noting that the Government only refers to the statistical information forwarded, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the information provided does not enable the Committee to assess the application of the principle of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes that women represented only 37.3 per cent of the economically active population in 2017 (against 62.7 per cent for men) and that despite steady economic growth, the employment rate of women remained low at 36 per cent in 2017 (against 41 per cent in 2010), with more than one third of working women employed in the informal economy, characterized by low wages. It notes with concern that, according to the “Survey on hours actually worked and average earnings” published by the Statistics Division of the Department of Labour in 2016, the average earnings of women are lower than those of men in almost all economic sectors, even when men and women workers are employed in the same occupational category. The Committee further notes that, in its last concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) expressed concern about the historically low participation of women in the labour market, and that women tend to be employed in low-paying jobs in tea plantations and the garment sector. It recommended that the Government take steps to effectively address sociocultural barriers that may have a negative impact on women’s opportunities for employment, particularly in sectors with high wage levels (E/C.12/LKA/CO/5, 4 August 2017, paragraphs 25 and 26). The Committee also notes that, in its concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern at the wide gender wage gap, the limited implementation and monitoring of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value and the concentration of women in the informal employment sector (CEDAW/C/LKA/CO/8, 3 March 2017, paragraph 32). Taking into consideration the wide gender pay gap and the persistent gender segregation in the labour market, the Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to take more proactive measures, including with employers and workers’ organizations, to raise awareness, make assessments, and promote and enforce the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, as enshrined in the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken to address the gender remuneration gap by identifying and addressing the underlying causes of pay differentials such as vertical and horizontal job segregation and gender stereotypes, covering both the formal and informal economy, and by promoting women’s access to a wider range of jobs with career prospects and higher pay. Recalling that collecting, analysing and disseminating information is important in identifying and addressing inequality in remuneration, it requests the Government to provide updated statistical information on the average level of earnings of men and women, disaggregated by economic activity and occupation, both in the private and public sectors, as well as in the informal economy.

Article 2. Minimum wages. Wages boards. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that sex-specific terminology is no longer used in the wages board’s decisions. Regarding the Government’s earlier request for ILO technical assistance for the simplification of the wages boards system, the Committee notes that, in light of the future adoption of the Single Employment Law to replace the Wages Board Ordinance, the Shop and Office Employees Act, the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act and the Maternity Benefits Ordinance – without prejudice to the labour rights guaranteed at present by labour laws – this request is now redundant. The Committee welcomes the adoption of the National Minimum Wage Act No. 3 of 2016 which sets a national minimum wage, but notes that, in its concluding observations, the CESCR expressed concern about the fact that the Act does not cover workers in the informal economy, those not unionized, those on daily wages (for example plantation workers) and domestic workers (E/C.12/LKA/CO/5, 4 August 2017, paragraph 31). Recalling that the setting of minimum wages can make an important contribution to the application of the principle of the Convention which applies to all workers, in all sectors, both in the formal and informal economy, and noting that according to the National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights 2017–21 the Government will consider the ratification of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), the Committee requests the Government to indicate how equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value is also ensured for workers who are not covered by the National Minimum Wage Act, including workers in the informal economy, those not unionized, those on daily wages such as plantation workers, as well as domestic workers, which are sectors characterized by a high proportion of women and particularly low wages. It also requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in simplifying the wages boards system, as well as on the measures taken to ensure that the rates of wages fixed by the wages boards are based on objective criteria free from gender bias (such as qualifications, effort, responsibilities and conditions of work), so that work predominantly done by women, as well as skills considered to be “female” (such as, for example, manual dexterity and those required in the caring professions) are not undervalued or even overlooked, compared to work predominantly done by men or skills traditionally considered to be “male” skills (such as heavy lifting).

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

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.