Finland
A survey based on 17,000 responses from members of the Union of Salaried Employees found that on average women were paid €300 less than men when doing the same job and working the same hours. There was a pay gap at every salary level and the average rose in line with age reaching €1,000 a month by retirement. The survey indicates that various forms of maternity and family leave are important factors in limiting women’s career progression.
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Trade unions at the Forest prison in Brussels called an emergency meeting with employers under social dialogue procedures on 1 March to raise the urgent problem of overcrowding, made more acute by the need to find space to isolate several cases of tuberculosis. The prison’s capacity is 405 but it has 715 inmates. The unions organised internal actions, including a go-slow, during the week beginning 5 March to underline the problems created by overcrowding and the lack of investment in the prison and understaffing. The unions want a meeting with the Minister of Justice to tackle the issue across
The Vision local government union is calling for action on structural pay inequalities and wants to see women have the right to full-time and permanent employment contracts as part of a campaign to reduce the gender pay gap. The union supports the 16.02 campaign which says that with a 12% pay gap women effectively work for free every day from 16.02 to 17.00. The pay gap has narrowed slightly in recent years but on current progress it will take until 2050 to achieve equal pay.
Further research has been published that reveals the threat to workers’ health posed by longer hours. The study of civil servants found a 60% increase in heart-related illness among those working three or more hours a day more than the seven-hour norm. Publication of the research comes at a time when the European Commission is consulting over the Working Time Directive. A communication from the Commission suggests that health and safety is no longer the only factor to be taken into account when assessing the impact of working time legislation. A view that EPSU and the ETUC will reject in their
