Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Papua New Guinea

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) (Ratification: 2000)
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) (Ratification: 2000)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of ratified Conventions on equality, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine the Conventions Nos 100 (equal remuneration) and 111 (discrimination in employment and occupation) together.

Convention No. 111 – National policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation

Articles 1(1)(a), 2 and 3(b). Prohibited grounds of discrimination. Legislation. Sex. Sexual harassment. The Committee welcomes the Government’s indication, in its report, that: (1) the Industrial Relations (IR) Bill and the Employment Act 1978 will be revised and that the new provisions will define and prohibit both quid pro quo (i.e. blackmail) and hostile environment sexual harassment; and (2) consideration is given to strengthening the General Orders dealing with the conduct of public servants, and in particular the Public Service General Order No. 15 and the specific articulation of the provisions of sexual harassment in the Public Services (Management) Act 2014. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on: (i) any progress made towards the revision of the legislation with a view to fully addressing the issue of sexual harassment; and (ii) any awareness-raising activities undertaken to prevent and address sexual harassment in both the public and private sectors.

Article 1(1). Discrimination on the basis of disability, HIV status, sexual orientation and gender identity. The Committee notes with interest the adoption by a unanimous vote, on 31 July 2025, of the Disability Services Bill, which is the country’s first comprehensive legislation for persons with disabilities, designed to protect their rights, promote their inclusion, and provide them with better services in areas like health, education, employment, and politics. This Act foresees the creation of a National Disability Advisory Committee. The Committee also welcomes the Government’s indication that the current labour law reform exercise will adequately cover the prohibition of discrimination against people living with disabilities, people affected by HIV and AIDS, and other vulnerable groups, or based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Finally, it notes that the Government refers to: (1) the Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) Policy developed to guide all public sector agencies in this matter; and (2) the National AIDS Council Act (No. 30 of 1997) and the HIV and AIDS Management and Prevention Act No. 4 of 2003, listing the objectives and functions of the Council (but without providing information on the actual measures or initiatives taken). The Committee requests the Government to indicate: (i) the concrete measures taken, following the adoption of the law, to address cases of discrimination in employment and occupation faced by persons with disabilities; (ii) the measures taken by the National AIDS Council Secretariat and the National Disability Advisory Committee, and their impact; and (iii) any measure taken with regard to protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Article 2. Equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women. Access of rural women to particular occupations. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that 38 per cent of women are in wage employment (compared to 66 per cent for men); 46 per cent of women work in the informal economy (15 per cent for men); and only 8 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises are owned by women across urban, rural and remote locations. It also notes the Government’s indication that the Medium-Term Development Plan IV (2023–2027) will reinforce women’s empowerment through their participation and engagement in the socio-economic development of the country, including through strategic partnerships to improve access to finance and credit. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken,in application of the Medium-Term Development Plan IV (2023–2027) or otherwise, and the results obtained in increasing the access of rural women to: (i) income-generating opportunities; and (ii) credit, loans and land; with a view to allowing them to access occupations on an equal footing with men.

Article 3(e). Access of women and girls to education and vocational training. The Committee notes that, in reply to its previous comment, the Government refers to education plans and other strategic declarations or programmes but without providing examples of concrete initiatives, actions or activities carried out, or results obtained. The Committee recalls that, as indicated in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2021: (1) significant disparities in access to education remained, with just half of the children from the poorest quintile enrolled in school and girls living in extremely remote areas being twice as likely to be out of school than boys; and (2) the UN country team recommended the integration of gender equality into all levels of education and the adoption and roll out of the national strategy on out-of-school children, particularly in remote and rural communities, to ensure access to education (A/HRC/WG.6/39/PNG/2, 16 August 2021, paras 30–31). In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Education Plan 2020–2029 gives prominence to equality in access to education and training, notably in allowing more girls to enrol in secondary education in a school close to their home. It further notes that one of the strategies of the Medium-Term Development Plan IV (2023–2027) for the empowerment of women is to promote women’s access to education opportunities, with an objective of attaining, by 2027, a gross enrolment rate for females in secondary education of 47 per cent (the 2020 baseline being at 40 per cent) and a Gender Parity Index equal to one in both primary and secondary school (the 2020 baseline being, respectively, at 0.94 and 0.98). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on measures taken, activities carried out and results obtained in: (i) improving the participation rates of women and girls in vocational training and education; (ii) promoting the equal distribution of men and women in different educational and vocational training institutions (with an indication of the areas in which they are taking courses); and (iii) enhancing the number of male and female graduates in a wider variety of areas, particularly those in which they are traditionally under-represented.

Article 5. Special measures. The Committee welcomes the Government’s indication that sections 98 and 99 of the Employment Act 1978, prohibiting the employment of women in, among other areas of work, heavy labour and night work, will be reviewed in the context of the current labour law reform, with a view to ensuring fairness and equality in terms of access to employment opportunities. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Articles 1 to 3. National policy for equality of opportunity and treatment. The Committee once again urges the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken or envisaged, in collaboration with workers’ and employers’ organizations, to develop and implement a national policy aimed at ensuring and promoting equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation on all the grounds enumerated in the Convention (race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin).

Convention No. 100 – Principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value

Articles 1 to 4. Gender pay gap. The Committee notes that a 2024 labour market survey conducted by the Business Coalition for Women (BCFW, a private sector led, member-based organization in the country) estimated an average gender earnings gap of 13.7 per cent. In this regard, the Committee notes with interest the re-establishment of the Minimum Wages Board (which brings together representatives of the country’s key social partners) and the adoption of revised national minimum wages in September 2025 (an increase from 3.50 Papua New Guinean kina (US$0.84) to 5.00 kina (US$1.20) in 2026, followed by further adjustments to 5.25 kina in 2027 and 5.50 kina in 2028).

Article 2. Wage-fixing mechanisms. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the role and functions of the Industrial Registrar and industrial inspectors in ensuring compliance with labour laws and equal pay principles and reviewing collective agreements to assess wage structures. The Committee requests the Government to provide: (i) information on the number of gender impact assessments and regular compliance checks carried out by the Industrial Registrar and industrial inspectors and the results thereof; and (ii) copies of collective agreements including provisions on equal remuneration or on wage discrimination.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation methods. The Committee notes the Government’s indications and emphasizes that “job evaluation” (i.e. the determination of the “value” of a job – irrespective of the person doing it – with a view to setting the appropriate level of remuneration for this type of job) is different from “performance appraisal” (i.e. the evaluation of the performance of an individual in the job – with a view to career progression, award of bonuses, etc.). The Committee notes the Government’s commitment to provide the requested information in the next reporting period. In view of the above, the Committee reiterates its requests to the Government to provide information on: (i) job evaluation methods used to determine remuneration rates in the public sector and the measures taken to ensure that they are free from gender bias; and (ii) any measures taken to promote the use in the private sector of objective job evaluation methods and criteria that are free from gender bias (such as qualifications and skills, effort, responsibilities and conditions of work). Please provide a copy of the salary scales and schemes of public sector employees as well as indications of the number of men and women respectively employed in each of the salary scales.

Conventions Nos   100 and 111 – Application in practice

Awareness-raising and enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s commitment to: (1) organize awareness-raising activities on the principles of both Conventions and on access to redress mechanisms available; and (2) source and compile information on cases relating to these principles detected by or reported to the labour inspectors, as well as those dealt with by the courts. Welcoming the commitment undertaken, the Committee hopes that concrete measures will be taken to increase the awareness and knowledge of the principles of the Conventions among those responsible for monitoring and enforcing those principles, and the general public. It requests the Government to provide information on: (i) any development in this regard; and (ii) any cases reported to or detected by the labour inspectors regarding discrimination in employment and occupation, including with regard to the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value, and on any judicial and administrative decisions on these matters.

Statistics. Recalling the importance of appropriate data and statistics in determining the nature, extent and causes of existing inequalities, and in monitoring the impact of measures taken and the progress achieved over time, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that these statistics will be provided in the next report. The Committee requests the Government to provide statistical information on: (i) the distribution of men and women in the different sectors of economic activity, job categories and positions, and their corresponding earnings (Convention No. 100); and (ii) the participation of men and women in the labour market, in both the public and private sectors, if possible disaggregated by sex, ethnic origin and occupational category (Convention No. 111).