Equal Pay for Equal Work in India

The principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’ has an important place in India. It is read with Article 39(d) and Article 14 of the Constitution of India. During the 1970s and the 1980s, the Supreme Court applied this principle liberally, without demanding clear proof in the pleadings.

Equal Pay for Equal Work is Difficult to Prove in Court

The principle of equal pay for equal work is not going to be easy to establish in a court of law. Imagine you have a job as a teacher in private school in Delhi and you are stating that you want to be given the same pay and benefits as a teacher in a government school in Delhi. How can the courts apply this principle of equal pay for equal work?

Here are some difficulties faced by courts in applying the said principle:

• There are several difficulties that courts in India face when comparing and evaluating the work of different people in different organizations or even in the same organization.

• The quality of work produced by two people in the same organization is different. For the same reason, applying this principle of equal pay for equal work is difficult. The party making the claim has to prove that all things are equal but proof is usually not measurable in courts.

• No material is provided to the courts to prove that there is a substantial claim for relief based on the duties of the twin categories, those who are asking for equal pay and those who are alleged to be already having equal pay.

Supreme Court on Equal Pay for Equal Work

In recent years, courts in India have refrained from applying this principle unless there is ‘complete and wholesale identity between the two groups.’

For the same reason, in S.C.Chandra v State of Jharkhand, (2007) SCC 279, the Supreme Court held a different approach by stating as follows:

Article 39(d) does not mean that all the teachers working in the school should be equated with the clerks in BCCL or the Government of Jharkhand for application of the principle of equal pay for equal work.