To ensure gender equality, the obligation of employers to provide equal pay is being specified.
elchi reports that this is reflected in the proposed amendment to the Labor Code, which was discussed at today’s session of the Milli Majlis.
According to the draft, the employer is obliged to pay equal wages to employees performing the same or different work of equal value, regardless of their gender. The equal value of work must be determined by the employer, taking into account working conditions, the nature of labor functions, and the tariff-qualification characteristics provided for in the current unified tariff-qualification reference books.
Accordingly, based on the proposed amendment to the Law “On Guarantees of Gender Equality (Men and Women),” it is intended that wages be paid not only for the same or similar work but also for work of equal value. According to Article 9.1 of the same Law, “Wages, as well as bonuses and other material payments made for the purpose of motivating employees, must be paid equally to employees working in the same workplace, regardless of gender, who have the same qualification level, work under the same working conditions, and perform work of equal value.”
According to the mentioned article, men and women performing the same work with the same qualification level and the same value are paid equal wages. This concept is more limited than the standard of equal pay for work of equal value, as it does not apply to men and women performing different jobs that have the same value. In this regard, Article 9.1 is presented in a new edition.
After the discussions, the draft law was put to a vote and adopted in the third reading.