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

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

Article 2 of the Convention. Gender wage gap. The Government indicates, in its report, that the female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) rose to 56.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, up from 55.9 per cent in the last quarter of 2022, with a target of reaching 59 per cent by 2025. It also informs the Committee about the adoption of the Employment Act (Amendment) 2022, which enhances protection for female workers. Key amendments include extended maternity leave, paternity leave, flexible working arrangements, and stronger measures against discrimination and harassment such as, for example, the obligation for employers to display notices on sexual harassment (new section 81H of the Employment Act 1955), and penalties for coercing or restraining employees. The Committee notes progress in women's representation in decision-making roles, with women holding 39 per cent of high-level public sector positions as at May 2023, and 30.6 per cent of board positions in the top 100 Public-Listed Companies as at June 2023. The Committee also takes note of the Budget 2022 mandate requiring all large-capital public-listed companies to appoint at least one female director from 1 September 2022, with this requirement extended to other listed companies from 1 June 2023. The Committee further observes that under the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (2021–25), the Government is intensifying efforts to increase the FLFPR by mandating that employers provide childcare facilities. This initiative includes, inter alia: (1) streamlining guidelines for setting up childcare facilities, even permitting them on higher office floors, to support working parents; (2) encouraging employers to utilize existing tax incentives for establishing childcare facilities in the workplace; (3) providing a monthly childcare fee subsidy of 180 Malaysian ringgits (approximately US$41.40) per child below 4 years of age, to government employees, while raising the eligibility income limit from 5,000 to 7,000 ringgits (approximately equivalent to US$1,150 to US$1,610) per month; and (4) increasing the tax relief for individual taxpayers enrolling children aged up to six years in registered childcare centres. The Committee welcomes these initiatives aimed at increasing the FLFPR. However, it also notes that, despite an increase between 2021 and 2023, the FLFPR remains lower compared to that of men. In this regard, it notes the concerns expressed by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) regarding the persistent gender pay gap in the State party, which remains high, partly due to the unequal distribution of unpaid care work (CEDAW/C/MYS/CO/6, page 38). The Committee asks the Government: (i) to specify the measures taken or planned to promote the recognition of the value of unpaid care work and ensure its equal distribution between women and men; (ii) to provide data on the gender pay gap, including disaggregated information on gender distribution (both horizontally and vertically), and remuneration levels, to monitor progress effectively; and (iii) to continue providing information on the impact of the measures adopted to increase the labour force participation rate of women and their representation in decision-making positions. Finally, the Committee encourages ongoing collaboration with social partners to ensure the successful implementation of these initiatives and to address the root causes of the gender wage gap.

Article 2. Determination of remuneration. The Committee notes the Government’s update on the National Wage Index (NWI), which serves as a guide for various stakeholders, including employers, recruitment agencies, and the Government, in determining pay changes and formulating human resource policies. The Committee acknowledges the availability of NWI reports on the ILMIA website and understands that the publication was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic due to difficulties in data collection. The Committee also welcomes the Government’s plans under the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (2021–25) to enhance labour market information infrastructure, including the development of a comprehensive labour market data framework. Noting that the information provided is not disaggregated by sex or sector, the Committee reiterates the importance of ensuring that the NWI effectively captures and reflects wage trends for both men and women across various occupations and sectors, to effectively assess the application of the principle of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to: (i) confirm that the publication of the NWI has resumed since the pandemic-related pause; (ii) provide up to date statistical information from the NWI regarding wage trends for women and men, disaggregated by occupation and sector; and (iii) report on the progress of the labour market data framework being developed, and its impact on improving data collection and analysis, including any developments related to the NWI.

Minimum wages. Domestic Workers. The Government reiterates that domestic workers are excluded from the benefit of the Minimum Wages Order 2022 due to the nature of their work. However, it points out that domestic workers are always protected by their contract of service and the Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) signed between the countries involved. The Committee wishes to emphasize that excluding domestic workers from the full scope of national labour laws represents a lack of recognition of domestic work as work, reflective of gendered discrimination towards “women’s work”, as domestic workers are mostly women. Furthermore, the lack of legal recognition poses significant challenges for migrant domestic workers who often face limited access to legal recourse, complaints mechanisms and justice in both their countries of origin and destination. The Committee notes that Malaysia is among the countries that have introduced a standard employment contract for migrant domestic workers in response to the rising number of abuses committed against them. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on specific measures taken to ensure contract compliance by recruitment agents, intermediaries and employers in both sending and receiving countries, and on cases where violations of service contract or MOU clauses were detected. Additionally, the Committee asks for data on the average remuneration levels for domestic workers.

Objective job evaluation. Public sector. The Government states that recruitment and appointments in the public service are based on merit and competence, with remuneration and conditions determined by the Public Service Department. The Public Service Commission (PSC) conducts recruitment through a comprehensive vetting process that includes various assessments. The Committee recalls that, even when a remuneration system applies to all public sector employees without distinction based on gender, indirect pay discrimination can still occur. This may arise from how job classifications are established, where the tasks predominantly performed by women are undervalued compared to those traditionally performed by men. Additionally, wage inequality may result from disparities in certain wage supplements (such as allowances, benefits, etc.). Therefore, the Committee emphasizes the importance of transparency and accountability in ensuring that the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal “value” is fully applied within the public sector. It also reiterates 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 asks the Government to provide: (i) information on how the criteria for job classification and remuneration scales in the public sector are designed, and ensure that positions predominantly held by women are not undervalued compared to those held by men; (ii) data on the distribution of men and women across various occupations and positions in the public sector, along with their corresponding remuneration levels; and (iii) details on measures taken to improve women's access to higher-ranking and better-paid positions in the public sector, along with the results of these efforts.

Article 4. Cooperation with the social partners. The Government reaffirms its commitment to collaborating with social partners to pursue the goals enshrined in the Convention. It highlights the role of the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC), a tripartite body comprising representatives from employers, unions, and the Government. The Committee acknowledges the Government’s statement that the NLAC serves as a valuable forum for discussing and addressing labour issues, and that it can play a key role in promoting equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal “value”. The Government further commits to informing the Committee about the specific measures it will adopt, in consultation with the NLAC, to raise awareness of the principle of the Convention and the results achieved. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the progress of its collaboration with the NLAC and other social partners in advancing equal remuneration between women and men for work of equal “value”, and the outcomes of these efforts.

Enforcement. The Government indicates that the amendment to the Employment Act 1955, enforced as of January 2023, includes legal provisions related to discrimination in the workplace. Under these amendments, the Director General may inquire into and decide any dispute between an employee and an employer in respect of any matter relating to discrimination in employment, and make an order. An employer who fails to comply with any order issued by the Director General commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 50,000 ringgits (approximately US$11,500); and shall also, in the case of a continuing offence, be liable to a daily fine not exceeding 1,000 ringgits (approximately US$230) for each day the offence continues after conviction. Labour education activities are carried out by the Ministry to raise awareness and increase exposure of the target group to the new provisions of the Act. Along with labour inspections — several awareness-raising initiatives, including Awareness Talk, Meet the Client, Advisory Services, Dialogue, Seminars, Courses, Enterprise Visit, and Social Media Platform (Facebook Lives and Webinars) — were carried out from June 2021 to June 2023. As at 30 June 2023, the Sabah Department of Labour (DOL) has carried out, inter alia, labour inspections of 3,975 employers for non-compliance with the Sabah Labour Ordinance, including the Minimum Wages Inspection among employers in the industries. It has also handled 668 employment complaints, of which only 9.3 per cent concerned discrimination in salary payment towards undocumented employees (DOL-Sabah has collected arrears that were due to the employees). The Committee welcomes the Government's efforts to raise awareness of recent amendments to the Employment Act 1955, and related labour rights, through various channels. However, it recalls that the Employment Act 1955, as amended in 2022, still does not give full legislative expression to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal “value”. The Committee reiterates the importance of ensuring that the Employment Act 1955 be amended to expressly incorporate the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal “value”, and refers the Government to its observation under the Convention in this regard. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the progress made towards the adoption of appropriate amendments to the Employment Act 1955. In the meantime, please provide information on: (i) any awareness-raising activities focusing on the principle of equal remuneration between women and men for work of equal “value”, conducted for workers and employers and their organizations, as well as labour inspectors, judges and other officials responsible for ensuring the implementation of the principle of the Convention; and (ii) cases of gender-based wage discrimination in both the public and private sectors (number of detected cases, their nature and outcomes, sanctions imposed, and remedies provided to affected workers).