The concept of equal pay for equal work is based on human dignity and justice.
The Equal Remuneration Act , 1976 was enacted in India to deal with equal pay for equal work for men and women
It was repealed in August 2019 and replaced by the Code on Wages, 2019. It moves away from the binary of men and women, and acknowledges the need for equal pay for all genders, thereby extending the benefit of the law to other oppressed genders, including transgender people.
This is a well pronounced moral and spiritual principle in the Bible.
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages´ Malachi 3:5. “Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who uses his neighbour’s services without pay and does not give him his wages (Jeremiah 22:13)
Let us, the clergy and the religious, not come under this curse of the Lord. Let us not compromise our conscience with justifications for paying lesser wage to women or to oppressed genders than men.
Today, no sensible person will float the argument that women or transgender people are weak and do not deserve equal wages for equal work. Let us not be misogynists. Let us be decent enough in respecting people’s human dignity.
“Equal pay is essential to build a world of dignity and justice for all,” says UN, commemorating the World Equal Pay Day.