
On 5 April the European Parliament (EP) voted in favour of a report on the gender pay transparency directive that includes important improvements to the European Commission’s draft proposal. There will be provisions on the protection of trade union rights for women workers, ensuring they can bargain collectively for equal pay; measures to deliver on the principle of equal pay for work of equal value and a ban on pay secrecy clauses. The ETUC thanked the rapporteurs for their work and called for the swift adoption of the improved directive by the Commission and Council. ETUC Deputy General Secretary Esther Lynch said: “Equal pay has been enshrined in the European treaties since 1957 but women are still being paid up to €800 a month less than men for work of equal value and the gender pay gap won’t close until the next century without action.