Women & Gender Equality

Mar. 06, 2020

Do you want us to be equal or not? International Women's Day 8 March 2020

8 March 2020 – 25 years have passed since the Beijing declaration, when the world took full conscience that “women’s rights are human rights” and developed a Platform for Action, a comprehensive blueprint for advancing women’s rights, achieving full gender equality.

Mar. 05, 2020

2020 EPSU Collective Bargaining News March 05

ETUC action highlights need for legislation on gender pay gap

Europe

The ETUC used an event in Brussels on 25 February to underline the need for legislation to end pay secrecy clauses, deliver compulsory annual pay audits and the right for workers to request gender pay information from their employers. While information helps, the ETUC also stresses that it is not enough to end inequality in pay and that a directive is needed to empower women workers and their unions to negotiate the changes needed  to ensure equal pay in the workplace. Representatives of EPSU joined the action.

Feb. 13, 2020

Closing the Gender Pay Gap in Public Services: First Workshop in London

Last week, the University of Greenwich organised a workshop in London on the Gender Pay Gap in Central and Northern Europe, which was attended by project partners including EPSU, as well as representatives from various trade unions.

Dec. 12, 2019

EPSU reaction on Council’s gender-equal economies: Legislation remains crucial to close the gender and pensions gap

EPSU welcomes the conclusions adopted yesterday by the European Council on gender-equal economies in the EU.

Dec. 09, 2019

Success of EPSU’s actions for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, EPSU organized a campaign to promote a health and safe environment in the world of work, through the ratification of the Istanbul and the ILO 190 Conventions.

Dec. 06, 2019

2019 December EPSU Collective Bargaining News 23

New research underlines need for structural change for equal pay

Denmark

A new report by VIVE, the Danish Centre for Social Science Research, provides further confirmation that pay inequality is a major structural problem facing the public services and particularly the care and social service sectors. The research shows that average wages in a sector fall as the proportion of women workers rises and that an annual average salary of DKK 30000 in a sector dominated by men falls to DKK 24150 in a sector dominated by women. Public services unions FOA, BUPL, SL and the cartel of health unions managed to negotiate a specific fund to tackle pay inequality in the 2018 negotiations but they are looking for much more significant funding from the government in the lead up to the next negotiations in 2021.

Nov. 25, 2019

Public Services prevent, protect, support: PS stand with women against violence

Brussels, 25 November 2019: On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, EPSU stands on the side of women against violence, demanding equal pay, equal rights and proper law enforcement to protect female workers.

Oct. 31, 2019

Better work-life balance benefits individuals, the economy and society as a whole!

The EU Directive on work-life balance recognises that better work-life balance (WLB) practices should promote the participation of women in the labour market.

Oct. 24, 2019

2019 October EPSU Collective Bargaining News 20

Municipal union decides not to follow wage coordination

Sweden

The Kommunal municipal workers' union has decided not to follow the wage coordination policy agreed by the LO trade union confederation. The union says that urgent action is needed to tackle staff shortages in childcare, health and other welfare services and that if it followed the LO target then workers in those sectors would only get an extra SEK 17 (EUR1.60). For Kommunal it is also important to address low pay in sectors dominated by women and the LO guideline would reduce the gender pay gap by only 0.1%.

Oct. 24, 2019

2019 October EPSU Collective Bargaining News 20

Unions mark equal pay day

Austria

21 October is marked as equal pay day in Austria where the gender pay gap is one of the biggest in Europe at 19.7%. This is based on a full-time woman worker getting an average of EUR 41785 compared to EUR 52033 for a man. This is the equivalent of women working for free for 72 days - hence setting the date as 21 October. Unions highlight the problems of part-time work and unpaid care as contributing to the problem. While 47% of women work part time only 11% of men do.

Oct. 15, 2019

• EN
• RU

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has launched its Gender Equality Index

On 15 October, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) launched its Gender Equality Index for 2019, which stands at 67.4 out of 100.

Sep. 27, 2019

International Safe Abortion Day

International Safe Abortion Day: September 28, 2019

EPSU expresses solidarity with the demonstrations that will take place across Europe on International Safe and Legal Abortion Day, Saturday 28 September.

Jul. 11, 2019

2019 July epsucob@NEWS 13

Union sets out demands after women's strike

Switzerland

Following the national women's strike last month, the vpod/ssp public services union has set out a range of demands to tackle gender inequality across the public services and with particular measures in the childcare, health and education sectors. The union wants to see equal pay auditing of all public employers with the involvement of the union and an across-the-board pay increase for occupations and sectors dominated by women - particularly care jobs. Along with this the union underlines the importance of stable and reliable working hours and a range of measures in relation to maternity and parental leave and leave to look after sick dependents. It is also calling for action to tackle harassment and violence.

May. 29, 2019

2019 June epsucob@NEWS 11

Unions take action over pensions equality

Norway

Just over 300 members of the Fagforbundet and FO health and welfare trade unions in three hospitals began strike action on 29 May in protest at unfair pension arrangements. The unions, among several coordinated by the LO confederation in its LO Stat group, are claiming full pension rights from day one and from the first Krone earnt in line with the arrangements in the municipal sector. At the moment employees working less than 20% of normal full-time hours are not able to build up pension rights. The unions point out that this is clearly gender discrimination as 75% of those affected are women. The unions estimate that the cost of providing pensions to this group of workers is only around 0.1% of the total hospital pay bill.

Apr. 16, 2019

2019 April epsucob@NEWS 08

Unions build for national women's strike on 14 June

Switzerland

The vpod/ssp public services trade union along with the SGB/USS trade union confederation is continuing to build for the national women's strike planned for 14 June. The aim of the strike is to address 10 major issues including the gender pay gap, work-life balance, working hours that are either too short or excessively long, sexual harassment and violence, inadequate pensions and the undervaluation of women's work. Along with strike action the unions will be organising events and actions at workplaces and towns and cities across the country.