Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Malaysia (Ratification: 1997)

Gender wage gap. The Committee notes from the findings of the 2007 National Employment Return Survey referred to by the Government in its report that the average gap between men’s and women’s basic monthly earnings amounts to 15.9 per cent. The Committee also notes that the widest wage gap is found among senior officers and managers (41.3 per cent) followed by craft and related trades workers (32.8 per cent) and skilled agricultural and fishery workers (29.7 per cent), while the lowest wage differentials concern technicians (2.5 per cent), clerical workers (5.8 per cent) and service, shop and market sales workers (13.2 per cent). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to reduce the gender wage gap and address its underlying causes, including horizontal and vertical occupational segregation based on sex, as well as on the progress made in this regard. Please also continue to supply statistical information on the levels of men’s and women’s earnings in the various industries and occupations, and provide statistical data on the distribution of men and women in the different sectors of economic activity, occupations and positions.

National Policy for Women. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes that the Cabinet Committee on Gender Equality agreed to appoint Gender Focal Points (GFPs) in all ministries and agencies with a view to providing assistance to the Government in the implementation of the National Policy on Women, the Plan of Action on the Advancement of Women and other governmental policies. In order to enable the GFPs to discharge their functions, they have been provided with training on gender issues. The Committee also notes that in 2006 the Cabinet Committee established three inter-agency committees to review, among other things, the Federal Constitution and the rules and regulations related to employment with the objective of ensuring that they do not contain gender discriminatory provisions. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to implement the National Policy on Women and the Plan of Action on the Advancement of Women which are relevant to the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate whether the training provided to the GFPs encompasses equal remuneration issues. Please also indicate whether any steps been taken or envisaged by the inter-agency committees with a view to giving legislative expression to the principle of the Convention.

Public sector wages. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that, since the establishment of the First Royal Commission in 1964, the reviews of public sector wages have been underpinned by the principle of equal pay for men and women for “the same work” and that this principle also informed the Malaysian Remuneration System of 2002. The Committee reiterates that the principle of the Convention goes beyond equal pay for the same work, as elaborated in its observation. Recalling the Government’s obligation to ensure the full application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value to its own employees, the Committee again asks that the principle of the Convention be applied when rating jobs according to responsibilities and duties in order to prevent gender bias in the determination of wages, and asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that this principle is reflected in job evaluations for the public sector. Please also provide statistical information on the distribution of men and women in the different occupations and positions in the public sector and on their remuneration levels.

Collective agreements. Recalling its previous request for information on the manner in which the principle of the Convention is taken into account when fixing wages in the context of the collective bargaining process, the Committee notes the Government’s reference to section 8 of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 (Act 177) providing that a complaint may be lodged with the Industrial Court for a breach of section 5 of the Act which prohibits discrimination in respect of employment, promotion and conditions of employment at the hands of employers or employers’ trade unions. However, the Committee notes that section 5(1)(c) only prohibits discrimination against workers on the ground of their membership of a trade union and it is thus unclear how this provision could be relevant to the application of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that section 18 of the Act providing for conciliation in cases of dispute would provide an avenue to raise complaints concerning discrimination. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the application of section 18 of the Industrial Relations Act to cases of violation of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to promote the application of the principle of the Convention in the context of collective bargaining and to supply copies of collective agreements applying this principle.

Enforcement. Please continue to provide information on any judicial or administrative decisions relating to the application of the Convention and on any relevant violations detected by the labour inspectorate services, the sanctions imposed and the remedies provided.