Labour Law _ Equal Remuneration Act_ Assignment.pptx

Equal Remuneration Act 4 – 6 3 Landmark
Judgements 7 4 Case 1: Jagjit Singh vs
State of Punjab 8 - 9 5 Case 2:
Merkendeya vs State of Andhra Pradesh10 - 11 6
Case 3: Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co. Ltd vs
Audrey D'Costa 12 7 Conclusion 13 8
Reference 14

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• Introduction Equal Remuneration Act

salary, etc. at par with his peers for doing similar
work. In this article, however, it is argued that the
understanding of discrimination has deepened
over time and thus we have to also reflect upon
our traditional ideas, and expand our aims that
were previously set. Hence, it is suggested that the
idea of ‘equal pay for equal work’ still remains a
distant dream.
• The constitutional commitment to socio-economic justice

The Preamble reflects the concept of justice in all
aspects of an individual’s life, be it social,
cultural, political, or economical. This reflection
gets reaffirmed in Part III of the Constitution of
India, dealing with Fundamental Rights and Part
IV dealing with the Directive Principle of State
Policy.

citizens. When we look at these provisions from a
formalist point of view, the special treatment
given to women, children, and socially and
educationally backward classes of citizens, has
been interpreted as an exception to the concept of
equality. But another perspective is of substantive
equality which embraces the special treatment as
an essential dimension of the concept of equality.
This is to suggest that the substantive equality
approach, ideologically acknowledges the
‘disadvantage’ that is perpetuated in different
aspects of the lives of members from the
aforementioned categories.

religion, sex, place of birth, or any of them. This is
to say that our Constitution makers were very well
aware of the existing social hierarchies, and its
adverse impact on the economic dimension of
multitudes of lives. In fact, under Article 39(d), as
a directive principle to the State, the Constitution
explicitly, secures the right of equal pay for equal
work for both men and women. Hence, it can
satisfactorily be said that the themes of socio-
economic justice found a prominent place in our
Constitution, and thus becomes one of the main
aims of the Indian society to achieve.

these categories affect an individual in an
intersectional way. For instance, in a simplistic
understanding, a lower caste woman is relatively
more disadvantaged than an upper-caste woman,
and hence more exposed to unequal income and
differential treatment by employers, or an inter-
state migrant may also face such treatment
because he was born in some other state as well as
he belongs to a lower caste. This idea, however,
could not sufficiently surface itself in our
Constitution. Arguably, one can say

of them’ in Article 15 or 16(2), as against the use
of ‘only’ before. However, it cannot be denied that
this aspect has not been emphasized enough in
legislative actions by the governments. Hence, the
problem deepens in terms of equal remuneration
for these groups.
• India and remuneration disparity

the people of this category other than the two
dominant genders, that are, male and female?
Similarly, how much do we know about the
remuneration disparity between interstate migrant
workers and native workers? Intersectionality, in
this sense, has been relatively less emphasized in
the context of wage gaps. In further sections, we
attempt to explore some of the aspects of these
claims.
• Gender discrimination and wage inequality

commitments. There are multiple reasons for such
exclusion of women in employment and wage
discrimination including unequal access to
education, patriarchal social norms, conception
such as work being ‘suitable’ for women or not,
etc. Amidst these prominent reasons, however, the
less emphasized reasons such as race, colour,
class, caste, age, etc., also play their role in
intensifying this kind of discrimination against
women.

(hereafter, LGBTQ+). And consequently, it affects
the economic dimension of their lives
significantly. The most important reason for such
exclusion and discrimination is stigmatization.
The community is discriminated against in
employment opportunities, wages, salaries, etc.
The high rate of poverty in these communities
forces them to engage in further criminalized
activities.

discrimination against such communities. It is,
however, not to undermine the continuing wage
disparity against women, rather it is argued that
the concerns of wage gaps are way more
problematic than they seem to be, thus need to be
dealt more actively.
• Inter-state migrant workmen and wage inequality

communities are vulnerable to many social and
economic issues involving the risks associated
with low-paying, hazardous, and informal market
jobs. Multiple studies have concluded that the
migrant workers are generally remunerated
substantially lower than the local labour, their
working conditions such as security of a job,
shelter, medical facilities, insurance, and
provident fund, etc. are near to non-existent in
some areas. In this respect, we can’t ignore the
exacerbation of their situation because of the

other factors like caste, language, gender, etc.
Hence, the dimension of the apparent violation of
a Constitutional guarantee also becomes part of
the problem.

at all to demoralize the attempts of major
government actions and the works of multiple
national as well as international non-
governmental organizations. Rather, the idea is to
point to the complexity of the issue and demand a
change in perspective of the common populace in
the country.
• The legislative response to the issue

Article 39(d), the Equal Remuneration Act of
1976 (ERAAct) was passed, which sought to
provide for payment of equal wages and salaries
to ‘male’ and ‘female’ workers and prevent
discrimination based on sex against women in
matters of employment.

kind, to a person employed. In Section 5, it
specifically prohibits employers from
discriminating against women. Further, in the case
of People’s Union for Democratic Rights v. Union
of India, the Supreme Court observed that the
principle of equality embodied in Article 14 of the
Constitution of India, finds its expression in the
provision of the ERAAct.

Society, which identifies several links in the chain
where the implementation of the ERAAct could
break down leading to the non-enforcement of the
act, for instance, the flaws in the periodicity and
thoroughness of the inspection by labour
inspectors.

necessary to update these laws. Secondly, the
earlier Acts only covered 40% of the total
employment workforce, since the Act provided for
only certain salary groups and specific schedules.
The new Code will cover all employees and
workers in its purview. Thirdly, different
legislations provided different definitions of the
same words, hence leading to a difficulty for
courts to decide the cases, thus, a single code
provides for single definitions. Lastly, due to
multiple statutes, compliance was difficult at
administrative levels as well. Hence, the
government introduced the Code of Wages Bill.

Some of the landmark judgments in the
context of equal pay for equal work include:

Hence, the classification must be grounded on two
rationals, firstly, on an intelligible differentia
which distinguishes people of one group from
other groups, secondly, such differentia must have
a rational relation to the object sought to be
achieved. Although, the facts of the case itself did
not deal with the idea of ‘equal pay for equal
work’, however, the principles laid down have
been significantly relied on by the courts in the
cases involving such issues.

Co. ltd. v. Andrey D’Costa, which involved a
claim for equal remuneration for female
Stenographers and male stenographers. The
Supreme Court held that such kind of
differentiation is not maintainable, further, the
management could not arrive at a settlement, by
flouting the express provision of the statute.

principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’ did not
find an explicit place in the fundamental rights, it
certainly constitutes a constitutional goal,
therefore, it is capable of being enforced through
constitutional remedies under Article 32 of the
Constitution.

supervisors having a degree in engineering and
non- graduate supervisors having diploma and
license. The Court upheld such difference and
stated that the basis of difference being
educational qualifications is reasonable for the
difference in pay scales, thus would not go against
Article 14 and 16.

performing similar duties and functions as
discharged by permanent employees are to be
given wages at par with permanent employees
similarly placed. It also stated that this principle
must be applied in the cases where the same work
is being performed, irrespective of the class of the
employee.

Although the Judiciary has been proactive in its
approach to settling the issues related to the
principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’, it has
been shown in this article that the aim still
remains distant for us.

Case 1 : Jagjit Singh vs State of Punjab
• Introduction of the Case:

appointed on casual basis, contractual employees
and the like), are entitled to minimum of the
regular pay-scale, along with dearness allowance
(as revised from time to time) on account of their
performing the same duties, which are discharged
by those engaged on regular basis, against
sanctioned posts.

were not entitled to the minimum of the regular
pay-scale, merely for reason, that the activities
carried on by daily-wagers and the regular
employees were similar. However, it carved out
two exceptions, and extended the minimum of the
regular pay to such employees. The exceptions
recorded by the full bench of the High Court in the
impugned judgment are extracted here under :-

against the regular sanctioned posts, if appointed
after undergoing a selection process based upon
fairness and equality of opportunity to all other
eligible candidates, shall be entitled to minimum
of the regular pay scale from the date of
engagement.

Government or its instrumentalities for a sufficient
long period i.e. for 10 years, such daily wagers, ad
hoc or contractual appointees shall be entitled to
minimum of the regular pay scale without any
allowances on the assumption that work of
perennial nature is available and having worked
for such long period of time, an equitable right is
created in such category of persons.

scale after more than three years and two months
of completion of 10 years of continuous working,
a daily wager, ad hoc or contractual employee
shall be entitled to arrears for a period of three
years and two months.

• Analysis and Interpretation

In this case, the judgement stated that there were
the following distortions within the ambit of case
discussion-

Permanent vs Temporary Employees

➢The equal work equal pay concept or Law of
Equal Remuneration was the principle that was
being used and stated while addressing the issue
mentioned in the case by the Supreme Court.

➢In the premises of this case, contractual
labourers or temporary labourers were being
“exploited” and “enslaved” as quoted by the
Supreme Court

➢As per Article 145, Payment of Equal Wage for
Equal work in contribution is an absolute
necessity and violation of the same would lead to
exploitation of the welfare state of the society.

➢As per Article 397, law of equal wage can and
ought to be claimed by the temporary workers
inter alia.

➢The Supreme Court on the note of this case
stated that the “claim for equal wage” should be
valid for equal delivery of work no matter the
class or state of the employee in the work forum.

➢Article 38 (2) states that even temporary
employees are eligible to be subject to having the
minimum wage towards an employee along with
the additional dearness allowances and other
benefits that s/he is subjected towards.

wage without any ambiguity or irregularity due to
differentiation of class of employment, i.e, wage
payment should be in direct terms with the
amount and kind of work delivered and no
hindrances due to the kind of employment would
be entertained. This was mainly declared taking
into consideration the exploitation of the workers
by the hierarchy, which was quoted as
“enslavement” by the Supreme Court, post
delivery of tasks in the firm.

only the delivery of work that was being
performed by them irrespective of their
employment type. This promoted the “Law of
Equal Remuneration” where every worker,
irrespective of any other clauses, would be subject
to equal payment of wages, eradicating the
domineering position of the hierarchical
authorities.

Case 2 : Markendeya vs State of Andhra
Pradesh
• Introduction of the Case:

Branch category 1 includes officers, namely,
Supervisors, Overseers, Head Draftsmen, Civil
Draftsmen, Artists Draftsmen, Tracers, Blue-Print
Operators and Building Mistries. Supervisors are
recruited by direct recruitment as well as by
promotion from amongst the Overseers. The cadre
of supervisors include degree holders in
engineering and diploma or licence holders.

from amongst the post of supervisors, in
accordance with the Andhra Pradesh Engineering
Service Rules 1967. Graduate Overseers are given
preference in the ratio of promotion to the post of
Assist- ant Engineer inasmuch as the quota of
promotion is four to one from amongst the
graduate supervisors and non-graduate
supervisors.

supervisor is granted higher starting salary than
non-graduate supervisors. Subsequently, a lower
pay scale was prescribed for the non- graduate
supervisors. Aggrieved the non-graduate
supervisors filed two writ petitions in the High
Court of Andhra Pradesh under Article 226 of the
Constitution challenging validity of discrimination
in prescribing two different scales of pay.

supervisors were entitled to the same scale of pay
as prescribed for the graduate supervisors on the
principle of equal pay for equal work as they
constituted the same service and performed the
same duties and functions as those performed by
graduate supervisors.

were never fused into one service. The two class
of employees discharged the same functions and
carried out similar duties, but the State was
justified in prescribing different pay scales for
historical reasons, and also on the basis of
difference in the educational qualifications. Plea
of discrimination against non- graduate
supervisors was denied.

O. Chinnappa Reddy (as he then was) by his
judgment and order dated February 26, 1974 held
that the State practised invidious discrimination
without there being valid justification between the
two categories of supervisors graduates and non-
graduates
• Analysis and Interpretation

same employer even though the two class of
employees did not constitute the same service.
The principle of equal pay for equal work was
enforced on the premise that discrimination was
practised between the two set of employees
performing the same duties and functions, without
there being any rational classification. The

educational qualifications. In the decisions
reference to which have been made by the learned
counsel for the appellants, this Court granted
relief, after recording findings that the aggrieved
employees were discriminated in violation of the
equality clause under Articles 14 and 16 of the
Constitution, without there being any rationale for
the classification.

Case 3 : Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co. Ltd
vs Audrey D'Costa
• Introduction of the Case :

business of rendering supporting services to water
transport, like operation and maintenance of piers,
docks, pilotage, light- houses, loading and
discharging of vessels etc. referred to as Item No.
12 under the heading 'Water Transport' in the list
of establishments and employments.

Respondent No. 1 Audrey D'Costa was one of the
employees working under the petitioner till June
13, 1977 on which date her services were
terminated.

appointed under sub-section (1) of section 7 of
the Act complaining that during the period of her
employment, she was being paid remuneration at
the rates less favourable than those at which
remuneration was being paid by the petitioner to
the Stenographers of the male sex in its
establishment for performing the same or similar
work.

difference between the remuneration which she
was being paid and the remuneration which was
being paid to the male Stenographer who had put
in the same length of service during the period of
operation of the Act. The petitioner opposed the
said petition.

was being carried on by it was not one of those
businesses notified under sub-section (3) of
section 1 of the Act; that there was no difference
in the scales or grades of pay between lady
Stenographers and other male Stenographers.

found that the male Stenographers and the lady
Stenographers were doing the same kind of work,
but it, however, rejected the complaint holding
that in view of a settlement which had been
arrived at in 1975 between the employees' Union
and the management, the Respondent No. 1 was
not entitled to any relief.

discrimination on the ground of sex had been
made. It accordingly rejected the complaint of the
Respondent No. 1 by its order dated March 30,
1982. Ag- grieved by the order of the Authority
appointed under sub- section (1) of section 7 of
the Act.

In sum, it can be said that the issue of ‘equal
remuneration for equal work’ stems from the idea
of discrimination rooted in society.

impediment for its aim. When we look at the
legislative actions, we realize, although the strong
moves were taken by the government, still the
initial aim of brig parity remains partially realized.
This is to say that, not only do we have to achieve
the aims actually set out in our statutes (to root out
discrimination against women), but also expand
our aims with more deep-seated problematic
aspects in our society (for instance, the disparity
in wages and opportunities for employment for
LGBTQ+ community).

Labour Law _ Equal Remuneration Act_ Assignment.pptx

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