Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Maldives (Ratification: 2013)

Articles 1(a) and Article 2(2)(a) of the Convention. Legal framework. The Committee recalls that the Constitution refers to “work of equal value” (article 37), while the Employment Act provides for a more restrictive approach, as it refers to “persons carrying out equal work” (section 4(a)), whereas the expression “work of equal value” in the Convention, not only includes but 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. The Committee further recalls that for the principle of equal remuneration between men and women to apply, the Gender Equality Act requires that men and women assume “the same responsibilities” and “work adequately equal in value and weight”. As regards the interpretation of the provisions of the Employment Act, the Government stresses that although matters pertaining to wage-related issues are eligible for submission to the Employment Tribunal, the jurisdiction of the Tribunal does not extend to the interpretation of provisions within this Act. Therefore, there has been no national judicial or quasi-judicial interpretation of the terms “renumeration” and “equal work”. As for the Committee’s previous request on what is covered under “benefits and allowances” mentioned in the Employment Act, the Government indicates that this includes but is not limited to basic salary or wages, overtime compensation, bonuses and incentives, allowances (including housing, transportation, and meal allowances), benefits (such as health insurance, retirement plans, and other fringe benefits), and any other financial or non-financial benefits provided directly or indirectly by the employer in connection with the employment relationship. The Government reiterates that, pursuant to section 20(c) of the Gender Equality Act, men and women at the “same place” of employment with work adequately equal in value and weight shall be given equal wages, overtime compensation, benefits and allowances. In that regard, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that the Convention’s principle is not limited to comparisons between men and women in the same establishment or enterprise and allows for a much broader comparison to be made between jobs performed by men and women in different places or enterprises, or between employers. The Committee wishes to emphasize that ensuring a broad scope of comparison is essential for the application of the principle of equal remuneration given the continued prevalence of occupational sex segregation, i.e. the tendency for women to be concentrated in certain jobs, and certain sectors of activity (General Survey of 2012 on Fundamental Conventions, paragraphs 697–699). The Committee asks the Government to consider amending: (i) the Employment Act to ensure that equal remuneration is provided for men and women for work of equal “value” and not only “equal work”, as enshrined in the Constitution; and (ii) the Gender Equality Act, with a view to extending equal remuneration for work of equal value beyond the “same responsibilities at the same place of employment”. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government: (i) to specify the elements covered under “benefits and allowances” in section 20(c) of the Gender Equality Act; and (ii) to clarify the significance of the term “work adequately equal in value and weight” (section 20(c)). Please provide information on any decisions by courts or tribunals applying article 4(a) of the Employment Act, as well as sections 20(b) and 20(c) of the Gender Equality Act.

Article 2. Scope. Excluded categories of workers. Regarding the exclusion of members of the police force and armed forces from the protection of the Employment Act (Article 2), the Government states that these categories of workers receive fair and equitable remuneration through sector-specific regulations and remuneration schemes that align with the principles of the Convention. However, the Committee notes that, although the Government affirms that the unique requirements of these sectors do not undermine the principle of equal remuneration, the Maldives Police Service Act (Act No. 34/2020}, the Police Employment Regulation (R-85/2022) and the Armed Forces Act (Act No. 1/2008) do not contain provisions stating the principle of equal pay for work of equal “value” proclaimed by the convention. Therefore, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the manner in which the principle of the Convention is applied in practice to those categories of workers excluded from the coverage of the Employment Act.

Articles 2 and 3. Public sector. Wage structure. Objective job evaluation. The Committee welcomes the publication in 2021 of the Public Service Job Evaluation Guidelines by the National Pay Commission. It notes that the job evaluation process analyses and classifies jobs based on objective factors such as skill and knowledge, responsibility, physical effort, and environmental working conditions, and that each one is assigned a “weight” based on a number of quantitative and qualitative considerations. Job evaluation is undertaken for the job matrices of eight job families, and variations are made to the weightage – firstly across the job families, and secondly across the major job groups specified in the “Maldives Public Service Standard Classification of Occupations (MISSCO)” – in relation to the quantitative and qualitative considerations specified above. Subsequently job evaluation points are derived for each of the job evaluation factors across all job families. The Committee notes that the objective of the job evaluation exercise is to ensure that all staff are graded fairly and equitably – when considering each job in relation to others in the organization – and equally with other staff undertaking similar jobs or jobs of equal value. The Committee wishes to recall that the Convention addresses equality specifically between men and women and that, when comparing the relative value of different jobs, there needs to be an examination of the respective tasks involved, undertaken based on entirely objective and non-discriminatory criteria to avoid the assessment being tainted by gender bias and in particular that certain skills considered to be “female” are not undervalued. The Committee, therefore, requests the Government to indicate how it ensures that whatever methods are used for the objective evaluation of jobs are free from gender bias, i.e. that the selection of factors for comparison, the weighting of such factors and the actual comparison carried out are not discriminatory, either directly or indirectly.

Private sector. Minimum wage. The Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that a Minimum Wage Advisory Board has been constituted, and per the Board’s recommendation, minimum wages based on sector and enterprise size were established on 8 November 2021. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that micro businesses are exempt from minimum wage regulations, small businesses have the lowest per-hour minimum wage, and the informal economy is unaccounted for. In that regard, it wishes to point out that, according to the 2019 Informal Employment: Household Income and Expenditure Survey of the Republic of Maldives and the 2022 Report of the United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, 44 per cent of employed women in the Maldives work in the informal economy, and 84 per cent of home-based workers in the Maldives are women (A/HRC/53/39/Add.2, 26 April 2023, paragraph 23). Recalling that the fixing of minimum wages can make an essential contribution to the application of the principle of equal remuneration, the Committee wishes to stress that it is vital to ensure that the minimum wage determination process is free from gender bias and that certain skills considered to be “female” and sectors dominated by women are not undervalued or even overlooked (see General Survey of 2012, paragraph 706). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on how the principle of the Convention is considered in determining the minimum wage, and the activities undertaken or envisaged to ensure the promotion of the principle of the Convention in the informal economy.

Article 4. Cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee notes that interactive workshops are conducted between employers’ and workers’ organizations to further the implementation of the national minimum wage and the constitution in 2024 of the tripartite Minimum Wage Advisory Board. Please provide information on any form of cooperation or awareness-raising activities with the social partners for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of this Convention.

Enforcement. The Committee notes that labour inspectors and enforcement authorities have not been trained in handling cases of discrimination, and the Government’s indication that it would appreciate such opportunities in the future in order for these officials to gain insights or information. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the number, nature and outcomes of cases of pay discrimination dealt with by the labour inspectorate and the courts, and recalls that the Government can avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO in this regard.