Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

EQUAL REMUNERATION
ACT, 1976
Bhagwan Dass and Others v. State of Haryana
&Ors.
By: Shubham Raj
3rd year, B.A.L.Lb.
DSNLU, Visakhapatnam

Object of the Act
By: Shubham Raj, 3rd year, B.A.L.Lb., DSNLU- Visakhapatnam
The Equal Remuneration Act,
1976 aims to provide for the payment of
equal remuneration to men and women
workers and for the prevention of
discrimination, on the ground of sex,
against women in the matter of
employment and for matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto.

Constitutional provisions
 The principle of equal work to men and women worker
has been gaining increasing acceptance all over the
world. In many countries, law have been passed
prohibiting discrimination between men and women in
matters relating to payment of wages for similar work.
 The D.P. State Policy article 39 (d) of the Constitution
envisages that the State shall direct its policy, among
other things, towards securing that there is equal pay
for equal work for both men and women.

Constitutional provisions continued..
 Article 16(2) makes a specific mention that “no
citizen shall on ground only of ….sex …be
ineligible for or discrimination against in respect of
any employment or office under state.”
 In the International Women’s Year, the President of
India promulgated the Equal Remuneration
Ordinance, 1975 on 26th September, 1975 to
provide for the payment of equal remuneration to
men and women workers

The Statute
3 Chapters
I. Preliminary(§§ 1- 3)
II. Payment of remuneration at equal
rates to men and women workers
and other matters(§§ 4-7)
III. Miscellaneous (§§ 8- 18)

Chapter I (Preliminary)
§ 1. Short title and extent
 Called- the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
 Whole India
 3 years from passing of the Act
§ 2. Definitions

Chapter I
§ 3. Overriding effect of the Act- The
provisions of this Act Shall Have
effect notwithstanding anything
inconsistent therewith contained In
any other law or in the terms of any
award, agreement or contract of
service, whether made before or after
this Act

Chapter- II
§ 4. Duty of employer to pay equal remuneration to
men and women workers for same work of work of
a similar nature.
§ 5. No discrimination to be made while recruiting
men and women workers for same work or any
work of similar nature.
Except where the employment of women in such
work is prohibited or restricted by or under any
law.

Chapter- II continued…
§ 6. Advisory Committee
 one or more
 instituted to provide increasing employment
opportunities
 by the AG
 Shall consist of 10 or more members half of which
should be women.
 Members nominated by AG

§ 7. Power of appropriate Government to appoint
authorities for hearing and deciding claims and
complaints.
 Officer not below the rank of Labour Officer will
be appointed by the appropriate Government for
hearing and deciding claims and complaints
 Complaints in contravention of the Act & claims
arising out of non-payment of wages at equal rates
 Will have powers of Civil Court

Chapter- III
§ 8. Duty of employers to maintain registers
§ 9.1. Inspector- appointed by AG
§ 9.2.Deemed to be a PS u/s. 21 of IPC
§ 9.3. Powers of inspector
 Enter the premises at aby time
 Ask for the production of muster roll and register
 Take evidence to ascertain the adherence of the Act.
 Examine employer or any one in-charge
 Make copies or take extracts from any document.

Chapter- III continued…
§ 10. Penalties
Simple imprisonment upto one month or fine upto
Rs.10,000 or both when the employer-
 omits or falls to maintain any register or other
document in relation to workers.
 omits or fails to produce any register, muster-roll or
other document.
 omits or refuses to give any evidence or prevents his
agent, servant, etc. from giving evidence, or
 omits or refuses to give any Information.

 Fine not less than Rs. 10,000 which may extend to
Rs.20,000 or imprisonment not less than 3 months which
may extend upto one year for 1st offence, and upto two
years for second and subsequent offences if any employer-
 makes any recruitment In contravention to the provisions of
the Act, or makes any payment of remuneration at unequal
rates to men and women workers, for the same work or
work of a similar nature, or
 makes any discrimination between men and women
workers in contravention of the provisions of the Act, or
 omits or fails to carry out any direction made by the
appropriate Government under sub-section (5) of section 6.

§ 11. Offenses by companies: Every person, who at the
time of the offense was committed, was in charge of,
and was responsible to the company, as well as the
company, shall be deemed guilty.
§ 12. Cognizance and trial of the offenses: No court
inferior to Metropolitan Magistrate or a First Class
Judicial Magistrate shall try offenses related to this Act
 Take cognizance of an offense when the court receives
a complaint made by the Appropriate Government or
an officer duly authorized by it in its behalf or the
person aggrieved by the offenses or by any recognized
welfare institution or organization.

§ 13 & 14. The CG empowered to make rules for
carrying out the provisions of the Act & give directions
to the SG to carry out any execution related to the law.
§ 15. Act does not apply in certain cases:
 When terms and conditions of a women's employment
in complying with the requirements of any law giving
special treatment to women or
 Special treatment accorded to women in connection
with:
 Birth or expected birth of a child, or
 Terms & Conditions relating to retirement, marriage or
death or to any provisions made in connection with them

Bhagwan Dass and Others v. State of
Haryana &Ors.
The Education Department of the State of Haryana appointed the petitioners
as supervisors from time to time since the years 1978 on a fixed salary
and continued to treat them as temporary government servants by giving
them a deliberate break in service of one day after the lapse of every six-
months.
Since they were discharging the works similar to the other Supervisors in the
Education Department who had been absorbed as regular government
servants, the contended it was violative of Arts. 14 and 16 and prayed for
issue of a Writ directing the State Government to give them the same scale
of pay and benefits of continuous service, etc. by declaring them to be
permanent government servants.
The State Government contended that the petitioners were not full time
employees, that their mode of recruitment was different from the mode of
recruitment of regular Supervisors, that the nature of functions discharged
by the was different from those of the latter and that they had been
appointed on six-monthly basis as the posts were sanctioned from year to
year in view of the temporary nature of the schemes.

Haryana &Ors.
But,
 The documentary evidence placed on
record established that the petitioners
were functioning as fulltime Supervisors.
 The Respondent-State has failed to
establish its plea that the nature of the
duties is different.

Haryana &Ors.
Held: Whether appointments are for temporary
periods or the Schemes are temporary in nature is
irrelevant once its shown that the nature of the
duties and functions discharged and the work done
is similar the doctrine of 'Equal pay for equal work'
is attracted.
Thus, the petitioners are entitled to be paid on the
same basis of same pay scale as per which other
workers, who are discharging similar duties as
Supervisors just like the petitioners, are being paid.

Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Tendances

Tendances (20)

En vedette

En vedette (6)

Similaire à Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

Similaire à Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 (20)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Equal Remuneration Act, 1976