ETUC welcomes progress on gender pay transparency directive

The ETUC says that, according to the European Commission’s own figures, two thirds of European workers would be excluded from coverage by the pay transparency directive. The current proposal would limit gender pay reporting to organisations with over 250 staff. The impact would be even broader in countries like Estonia and Latvia where higher percentages of workers are employed by small firms and just one in five workers would be covered by the directive. These are also two of the countries with the highest gender pay gaps. Italy (79%), Cyprus (83%) and Greece (88%) are the three countries

The ETUC has welcomed the compromise between the European Commission, Council and Parliament on the pay transparency directive that should help to deliver equal pay. The ETUC highlights the key elements include a ban on pay secrecy clauses and the right for women workers and their unions to request transparent information on pay; gender-neutral job evaluation schemes, designed with the involvement of trade unions; and trade unions’ rights to collectively bargain to tackle pay discrimination and the undervaluation of work done by women. The ETUC believes that the measures will help to ensure

Research by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) shows that delays in implementing the EU’s newly passed pay transparency directive would cost women workers an average of €17,000 in lost wages. The final text of the directive was adopted by the European Parliament on 30 March. The directive includes a ban on pay secrecy clauses and the right for women workers and their unions to request transparent information on pay. The ETUC is calling on national governments to put the directive into action straight away rather than wait to the final deadline of 2026 to to transpose the directive into