Context:

• Global Wage Report 2018 brought out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
• India had the fastest wage growth in South Asia in 2017.
• Globally, the rate of growth in wages in 2017 fell to its lowest level since 2008, but workers in India had the highest average real wage growth in Southern Asia of 5.5% over the period 2008-17.

Findings of the Report;

• The mean gender pay gap of 34.5% for India and 34% for Pakistan on the basis of hourly wages were the worst among 73 countries for which data was available.
• Globally, women continue to be paid about 20% less than men.
• The gender gap in wages was lowest in high-income countries and highest in low and middle-income countries.
• Workers in Asia and the Pacific have enjoyed the highest real wage growth among all regions over the period 2006–17 with countries such as China, India, Thailand and Vietnam leading the way.
• Over a longer period, 1999 to 2017, real wages have almost tripled in the emerging and developing countries of the G20, while in advanced G20 countries they have increased by just 9%.
• Globally, growth in wages in real terms (that is, adjusted for price inflation) declined from 2.4% in 2016 to just 1.8% last year, far below the level of 3.4% before the global financial crisis.

Source:TOI