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THE EQUAL REMUNERATION ACT, 1976
ACT NO. 25 OF 1976
[11th February, 1976]
An Act 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.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Twenty-seventh Year of the
Republic of India as follows:--
CHAP
PRELIMINARY
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1.
Short title, extent and commencement.
1. Short title, extent and commencement.- (1) This Act may be
called the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It shall come into force on such date1*, not being later
than three years from the passing of this Act, as the Central
Government may, by notification, appoint and different dates may be
appointed for different establishments or employments.
2.
Definitions.
2. Definitions.- In this Act, unless the context otherwise
requires,--
(a) "appropriate Government" means,--
(i) in relation to any employment carried on
by or under the authority of the Central
Government or a railway administration, or in
relation to a banking company, a mine, oilfield or
major port or any corporation established by or
under a Central Act, the Central Government; and
(ii) in relation to any other employment, the
State Government;
(b) "commencement of this Act" means, in relation to an
establishment or employment, the date on which this Act
comes into force in respect of that establishment or
employment;
(c) "employer" has the meaning assigned to it in clause (f)
of section 2 of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 (39
of 1972);
(d) "man" and "woman" mean male and female human beings,
respectively, of any age;
(e) "notification" means a notification published in the
Official Gazette;
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1. 8-3-1976: vide Notif. No. S. O. 175(e), dated 6-3-1976, Gazette
of India, Extraordinary, Pt. II, Sec. 3(ii).
564
(f) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this
Act;
(g) "remuneration" means the basic wage or salary, and any
additional emoluments whatsoever payable, either in
cash or in kind, to a person employed in respect of
employment or work done in such employment, if the
terms of the contract of employment, express or
implied, were fulfilled;
(h) "same work or work of a similar nature" means work in
respect of which the skill, effort and responsibility
required are the same, when performed under similar
working conditions, by a man or a woman and the
differences, if any, between the skill, effort and
responsibility required of a man and those required of
a woman are not of practical importance in relation to
the terms and conditions of employment;
(i) "worker" means a worker in any establishment or
employment in respect of which this Act has come into
force;
(j) words and expressions used in this Act and not defined
but defined in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14
of 1947), shall have the meanings respectively assigned
to them in that Act.
3.
Act to have overriding effect.
3. Act to have overriding effect.- 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 the commencement of
this Act, or in any instrument having effect under any law for the
time being in force.
CHAP
PAYMENT OF REMUNERATION AT EQUAL RATES TO MEN AND WOMEN WORKERS ANDOTHER
MATTERS
CHAPTER II
PAYMENT OF REMUNERATION AT EQUAL RATES TO MEN AND WOMEN WORKERS
AND OTHER MATTERS
4.
Duty of employer to pay equal remuneration to men and women workers
for same
work or work of a similar nature.
4. Duty of employer to pay equal remuneration to men and women
workers for same work or work of a similar nature.- (1) No employer
shall pay to any worker, employed by him in an establishment or
employment, remuneration, whether payable in cash or in kind, at rates
less favourable than those at which remuneration is paid by him to the
workers of the opposite sex in such establishment or employment for
performing the same work or work of a similar nature.
(2) No employer shall, for the purpose of complying with the
provisions of sub-section (1), reduce the rate of remuneration of any
worker.
(3) Where, in an establishment or employment, the rates of
remuneration payable before the commencement of this Act for men and
women workers for the same work or work of a similar nature are
different only on the ground of sex, then the higher (in cases where
there are only two rates), or, as the highest (in cases where there
are more
565
than two rates), of such rates shall be the rate at which remuneration
shall be payable, on and from such commencement, to such men and women
workers:
Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall be deemed to
entitle a worker to the revision of the rate of remuneration payable
to him or her with reference to the service rendered by him or her
before the commencement of this Act.
5.
No discrimination to be made while recruiting men and women workers.
5. No discrimination to be made while recruiting men and women
workers.- On and from the commencement of this Act, no employer shall,
while making recruitment for the same work or work of a similar
nature, 1*[or in any condition of service subsequent to recruitment
such as promotions, training or transfer,] make any discrimination
against women except where the employment of women in such work is
prohibited or restricted by or under any law for the time being in
force:
Provided that the provisions of this section shall not affect any
priority or reservation for Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, ex-
servicemen, retrenched employees or any other class or category of
persons in the matter of recruitment to the posts in an establishment
or employment.
6.
Advisory Committee.
6. Advisory Committee.- (1) For the purpose of providing
increasing employment opportunities for women, the appropriate
Government shall constitute one or more Advisory Committees to advise
it with regard to the extent to which women may be employed in such
establishments or employments as the Central Government may, by
notification, specify in this behalf.
(2) Every Advisory Committee shall consist of not less than ten
persons, to be nominated by the appropriate Government, of which one-
half shall be women.
(3) In tendering its advice, the Advisory Committee shall have
regard to the number of women employed in the concerned establishment
or employment, the nature of work, hours of work, suitability of women
for employment, as the case may be, the need for providing increasing
employment opportunities for women, including part-time employment,
and such other relevant factors as the Committee may think fit.
(4) The Advisory Committee shall regulate its own procedure.
(5) The appropriate Government may, after considering the advice
tendered to it by the Advisory Committee and after giving to the
persons concerned in the establishment or employment an opportunity to
make representations, issue such directions in respect of employment
of women workers, as the appropriate Government may think fit.
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1. Ins. by Act 49 of 1987, s. 2.
566
7.
Power of appropriate Government to appoint authorities for hearing
and deciding claims and complaints.
7. Power of appropriate Government to appoint authorities for
hearing and deciding claims and complaints.- (1) The appropriate
Government may, by notification, appoint such officers, not below the
rank of a Labour Officer, as it thinks fit to be the authorities for
the purpose of hearing and deciding--
(a) complaints with regard to the contravention of any
provision of this Act;
(b) claims arising out of non-payment of wages at equal
rates to men and women workers for the same work or
work of a similar nature,
and may, by the same or subsequent notification, define the local
limits within which each such authority shall exercise its
jurisdiction.
(2) Every complaint or claim referred to in sub-section (1) shall
be made in such manner as may be prescribed.
(3) If any question arises as to whether two or more works are of
the same nature or of a similar nature, it shall be decided by the
authority appointed under sub-section (1).
(4) Where a complaint or claim is made to the authority appointed
under sub-section (1), it may, after giving the applicant and the
employer an opportunity of being heard, and after such inquiry as it
may consider necessary, direct,--
(i) in the case of a claim arising out of non-payment of
wages at equal rates to men and women workers for the
same work or work of a similar nature, that payment be
made to the worker of the amount by which the wages
payable to him exceed the amount actually paid;
(ii) in the case of complaint, that adequate steps be taken
by the employer so as to ensure that there is no
contravention of any provision of this Act.
(5) Every authority appointed under sub-section (1) shall have
all the powers of a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure,
1908 (5 of 1908), for the purpose of taking evidence and of enforcing
the attendance of witnesses and compelling the production of
documents, and every such authority shall be deemed to be a Civil
Court for all the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code
of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).
(6) Any employer or worker aggrieved by any order made by an
authority appointed under sub-section (1), on a complaint or claim
may, within thirty days from the date of the order, prefer an appeal
to such authority as the appropriate Government may, by notification,
specify in this behalf, and that authority may, after hearing the
appeal, confirm, modify or reverse the order appealed against and no
further appeal shall lie against the order made by such authority.
567
(7) The authority referred to in sub-section (6) may, if it is
satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from
preferring the appeal within the period specified in sub-section (6),
allow the appeal to be preferred within a further period of thirty
days but not thereafter.
(8) The provisions of sub-section (1) of section 33C of the
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947), shall apply for the
recovery of monies due from an employer arising out of the decision of
an authority appointed under this section.
CHAP
MISCELLANEOUS
CHAPTER III
MISCELLANEOUS
8.
Duty of employers to maintain registers.
8. Duty of employers to maintain registers.- On and from the
commencement of this Act, every employer shall maintain such registers
and other documents in relation to the workers employed by him as may
be prescribed.
9.
Inspectors.
9. Inspectors.- (1) The appropriate Government may, by
notification, appoint such persons as it may think fit to be
Inspectors for the purpose of making an investigation as to whether
the provisions of this Act, or the rules made thereunder, are being
complied with by employers, and may define the local limits within
which an Inspector may make such investigation.
(2) Every Inspector shall be deemed to be a public servant within
the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
(3) An Inspector may, at any place within the local limits of his
jurisdiction,--
(a) enter, at any reasonable time, with such assistance as
he thinks fit, any building, factory, premises or
vessel;
(b) require any employer to produce any register, muster-
roll or other documents relating to the employment of
workers, and examine such documents;
(c) take, on the spot or otherwise, the evidence of any
person for the purpose of ascertaining whether the
provisions of this Act are being, or have been,
complied with;
(d) examine the employer, his agent or servant or any other
person found in charge of the establishment or any
premises connected therewith or any person whom the
Inspector has reasonable cause to believe to be, or to
have been a worker in the establishment;
(e) make copies, or take extracts from, any register or
other document maintained in relation to the
establishment under this Act.
568
(4) Any person required by an Inspector to produce any register
or other document or to give any information shall comply with such
requisition.
10.
Penalties.
10. Penalties.- (1) If after the commencement of this Act, any
employer, being required by or under the Act, so to do--
(a) omits or fails to maintain any register or other
document in relation to workers employed by him, or
(b) omits or fails to produce any register, muster-roll or
other document relating to the employment of workers,
or
(c) omits or refuses to give any evidence or prevents his
agent, servant, or any other person in charge of the
establishment, or any worker, from giving evidence, or
(d) omits or refuses to give any information,
he shall be punishable 1*[with simple imprisonment for a term which
may extend to one month or with fine which may extend to ten thousand
rupees or with both].
(2) If, after the commencement of this Act, any employer--
(a) makes any recruitment in contravention of the provisions
of this Act, or
(b) makes any payment of remuneration at unequal rates to
men and women workers, for the same work or work of a
similar nature, or
(c) makes any discrimination between men and women workers
in contravention of the provisions of this Act, or
(d) omits or fails to carry out any direction made by the
appropriate Government under sub-section (5) of section
6,
he shall be punishable 1*[with fine which shall not be less than ten
thousand rupees but which may extend to twenty thousand rupees or with
imprisonment for a term which shall be not less than three months but
which may extend to one year or with both for the first offence, and
with imprisonment which may extend to two years for the second and
subsequent offences].
(3) If any person being required so to do, omits or refuses to
produce to an Inspector any register or other document or to give any
information, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five
hundred rupees.
11.
Offences by companies.
11. Offences by companies.- (1) Where an offence under this Act
has been committed by a company, every person who, at the time the
offence was committed, was in charge of, and was responsible to, the
company for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the
company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be
liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:
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1. Subs. by Act 49 of 1987, s. 3.
569
Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render
any such person liable to any punishment, if he proves that the
offence was committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised
all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where
any offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is
proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or
connivance of, or is attributable to, any neglect on the part of any
director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such
director, manager, secretary or other officer shall be deemed to be
guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and
punished accordingly.
Explanation.--For the purposes of this section,--
(a) "company" means any body corporate and includes a firm
or other association of individuals; and
(b) "director", in relation to a firm, means a partner in
the firm.
12.
Cognizance and trial of offences.
1*[12. Cognizance and trial of offences.- (1) No court inferior to
that of a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the
first class shall try any offence punishable under this Act.
(2) No court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under
this Act except upon--
(a) its own knowledge or upon a complaint made by the
appropriate Government or an officer authorised by it in this
behalf, or
(b) a complaint made by the person aggrieved by the offence
or by any recognised welfare institution or organisation.
Explanation.--For the purposes of this sub-section "recognised
welfare institution or organisation" means a social welfare
institution or organisation recognised in this behalf by the Central
or State Government.]
13.
Power to make rules.
13. Power to make rules.- (1) The Central Government may, by
notification, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the
foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the
following matters, namely:--
(a) the manner in which complaint or claim referred to in
sub-section (1) of section 7 shall be made;
(b) registers and other documents which an employer is
required under section 8 to maintain in relation to the
workers employed by him;
(c) any other matter which is required to be, or may be,
prescribed.
(3) Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act
shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House
of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty
days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more
successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session
immediately following the session or the successive sessions
aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any
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1. Subs. by Act 49 of 1987, s. 4.
570
modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not
be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified
form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any
such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the
validity of any thing previously done under that rule.
14.
Power of Central Government to give directions.
14. Power of Central Government to give directions.- The Central
Government may give directions to a State Government as to the
carrying into execution of this Act in the State.
15.
Act not to apply in certain special cases.
1*[15. Act not to apply in certain special cases.- Nothing in
this Act shall apply--
(a) to cases affecting the terms and conditions of a woman's
employment in complying with the requirements of any law
giving special treatment to women, or
(b) to any special treatment accorded to women in connection
with--
(i) the birth or expected birth of a child, or
(ii) the terms and conditions relating to
retirement, marriage or death or to any provision made
in connection with the retirement, marriage or death.]
16.
Power to make declaration.
16. Power to make declaration.- Where the appropriate Government
is, on a consideration of all the circumstances of the case, satisfied
that the differences in regard to the remuneration, or a particular
species of remuneration, of men and women workers in any establishment
or employment is based on a factor other than sex, it may, by
notification, make a declaration to that effect, and any act of the
employer attributable to such a difference shall not be deemed to be a
contravention of any provision of this Act.
17.
Power to remove difficulties.
17. Power to remove difficulties.- If any difficulty arises in
giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Central Government
may, by notification, make any order, not inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act, which appears to it to be necessary for the
purpose of removing the difficulty:
Provided that every such order shall, as soon as may be after it
is made, be laid before each House of Parliament.
18.
Repeal and saving.
18. Repeal and saving.- (1) The Equal Remuneration Ordinance,
1975 (Ord. 12 of 1975) is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action
taken under the Ordinance so repealed (including any notification,
nomination, appointment, order or direction made thereunder) shall be
deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions
of this Act as if this Act were in force when such thing was done or
action was taken.
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1. Subs. by Act 49 of 1987, s. 5.
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