Abstract
Occupational segregation by sex and the systemic undervaluation of jobs held by women are historic forms of labor market discrimination which lie at the root of sustained inequality at work. which in turn fuels the gender pay gap. Equal pay for equal work is the labour rights concept that individuals doing the same work should receive the same remuneration irrespective of individual or group characteristic such as gender which are unrelated to ability and performance. The doctrine of comparable worth is an attempt to alleviate the inequities caused by sex-segregated jobs and disparate pay scales for ‘female’ and ‘male’ dominated jobs. Adopting the doctrinal method, this work attempts to evaluate the functional relevance of Equal Pay and Comparable Worth Concepts to Nigerian labour law and practice. The work finds that although there is a severe paucity of equal pay legislation in Nigeria, the National Industrial Court is empowered by the Constitution to enforce international best practices in labour law. However, it is the historical perception of women as care-givers rather than a paucity of laws or a lack of education that most critically hinders women from attaining wage parity in the public and private employment sectors. It is recommended that Nigeria incorporates the ILO anti-discrimination Conventions into her labour laws whilst also pursuing socio-economic reforms across all stages of life to upturn the deep-seated biases and inequities against women in the world of work. Keywords: comparable worth, equal pay, gender pay gap, women as care-givers, employment equity, Nigeria labour law. DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/100-04 Publication date: August 31 st 2020
Highlights
This work attempts to evaluate the functional relevance of Equal Pay and Comparable Worth Concepts to Nigerian labour law and practice
The work finds that there is a severe paucity of equal pay legislation in Nigeria, the National Industrial Court is empowered by the Constitution to enforce international best practices in labour law
It is recommended that Nigeria incorporates the International Labour Organisation (ILO) anti-discrimination Conventions into her labour laws whilst pursuing socio-economic reforms across all stages of life to upturn the deep-seated biases and inequities against women in the world of work
Summary
The concept of Equal Pay for Equal Work is one which has been entrenched in International Law since the creation of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 1919.1 Equal pay for equal work was one of the founding principles of the ILO and is recurrent among international human rights instruments, for example Article 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Article 15 of African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. Several nation states have enacted laws to enforce it or make reference to the equal pay principle via provisions in other laws. Equal pay for equal work is the labour rights concept that individuals doing the same work should receive the same remuneration. Age, race, sex, religion, ethnic origin, political association or any other individual or group characteristic unrelated to ability and performance should not determine who earns more. The right of women to work, without any form of discrimination, is recognized and guaranteed by many international and national instruments: Article 2 of CEDAW, Section 18 (3) African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights; Article 7 of ICESCR, ILO Equal Remuneration Convention of 1951 Discrimination Convention (Employment and Occupation) 1958 (No 111), Workers, with Family Responsibilities Convention 1981 (No 156) and Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No 183), and Section 42 of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution to mention a few These legislations demand the elimination of gender inequality in the workplace, whether in the choice of profession, availability of employment opportunities, in the right to promotion to senior management levels, in equal remuneration, and job security. 3.1 Comparable Worth Calculation in the United States The Equal Pay Act was passed by the Federal Government of the United States in 1963 and made it illegal to pay men and women different wage rates for equal work on jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility and are performed under similar working conditions. The daily wagers are not entitled to the same remuneration as regular and permanent employees, as the wagers hold no definite posts
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