Higher pay increases

Higher pay increases for the lower paid benefit both men and women but as women very often make up the majority of low paid workers this should contribute to closing the gender pay gap. The same should result from pay increases targeted at sectors or occupations where women are in the majority, although once again the men working in those sectors and occupations will also benefit.

Austria

| Trade union: VIDA | Sector: Private health |

Attempts are being made in the collective agreement to achieve a higher ranking in the pay scheme for the lowest paid workers and female-dominated occupations, or to favour the lower pay grades in quantitative terms in the annual negotiations.

Czech Republic

| Trade union: TUHSSC | Sector: HSS |

The Union used its initiative to help abolish the lowest rung of the public pay structure, which set salary scales primarily for labourers, ancillary staff, and administrative and operational personnel. In April 2009, these groups consequently saw their pay increase by nearly 16%, again regardless of gender.

At some establishments, collective agreements applying a public pay structure include a “special salary scale designation”, making it possible to raise pay for the worst-paid positions, regardless of gender.

Denmark

| Trade union: HK Stat | Sector: National administration |

This could be a topic for discussion at the next round of negotiations (OK 11) on public sector wages. Current negotiation structures maintain the differences between the trade groups - and in some areas the differences are further pronounced. This is an area which requires employers to put forward demands to a much greater degree than before – in order to reach agreement on the organization side.

| Trade union: FOA | Sector: Municipal |

During the collective bargaining negotiations in 2008, an uneven distribution was agreed, i.e. a number of payroll resources were employed to raise the percentage of female occupations. The share was 0.7%.

In Denmark we have a regulatory system that ensures, for instance, that the public domain does not pay the highest wages, but rather guarantees a more or less equal wage development. For the first time ever this means that employees in the public sector will have a bill to repay. Employees of municipalities will have to repay 1.23%, while employees in the regions will have to pay 1.24% at the collective bargaining negotiations in 2011.

Estonia

| Trade union: ROTAL | Sector: National administration, Municipal |

It is currently impossible to increase salaries for lower paid employees.

Finland

| Trade union: FIPSU | Sector: Public sector |

From 1988 to 2005 in Finland, the sectoral gender equality and low-pay bonus or equality allowance have been almost without exception defined separately in centralised national incomes policy agreements. The amount has been determined on the basis of both low pay in the sector and the predominance of women.

In the agreements, generally at least part of the pay increases have been in euro amounts, in which case the pay raise has been greater for lower pay groups in relation to that of higher pay groups. For example, in the government agreement for 2007 and 2010, it was agreed that 0.2% of the government payroll would be used to help bridge the gender pay gap. This was realised on 1 February 2010. Monitoring of the distribution of the equality bonus is being carried out in the autumn of 2010, after which time statistical data on the distribution will be available. The equality allowance was realised in the municipal agreement on 1 February 2010.

France

| Trade union: FNEM-FO | Sector: Energy |

General salary increases are the same percentage for all employees. However, the individual increases are different according to the three main categories of employees – unskilled, skilled and executive. The increase is higher for executives and slightly lower for the other two categores. In response to the gender pay a an agreement was signed in 2007 and is still in force. This allows for a slightly higher rate of promotion for women in relation to men. This contributes to closing the pay gap year by year.

Germany

| Trade union: Ver.di | Sector: Public sector |

We have been running our minimum wage campaign for some years. This tackles low pay in low-wage sectors and hence also in the fields in which women typically predominate. Since the German government continues to persist in rejecting the introduction of a statutory minimum wage we have negotiated a sector-specific minimum wage in some sectors and would like to do this in additional sectors. However, progress is hindered either by the intransigence of employers and their unacceptable expectations or by our government's refusal to incorporate the negotiated compromise into the Employee Secondment Act (Arbeitnehmerentsendegesetz), thereby making it more generally applicable.

In past pay rounds in the public sector ver.di has called for (and in the 2008 wage round achieved) a fixed-sum increase, which results in people in lower wage groups receiving a disproportionally large pay rise.

Netherlands

| Trade union: Abvakabo | Sector: Public sector |

In recent years large salary increases have not occurred, only regular wage increases. The last major salary increase took place when the FWG pay system was introduced in the health sector in 2003. This system allocated more value to caring tasks than, for example, to management duties. Therefore the introduction of the FWG system was especially positive for the caring professions (mainly women).

Norway

| Trade union: Fagforbundet | Sector: Municipal |

Higher wages and salaries for low paid and female-dominated occupations are an important part of the union’s strategy in the work of correcting wages and salary-related inequalities between women and men. From the federation’s side a profile has been drawn up which satisfies precisely these groups – something which occasionally can mean a higher general increment.

| Trade union: NSF – nurses | Sector: Health/Municipal |

“Yes, for occupations that are female-dominated.“

Slovakia

| Trade union: Sozzass | Sector: Health |

Based on minimal wage annual increasing

Sweden

| Trade union: Kommunal | Sector: Municipal blue collar |

The LO unions who organize blue-collar workers decided in the negotiating round of 2007-2009 to demand a profile of wage growth which reduces the pay gap between female-and male dominated areas in the labour market. Our sights are set on eventually abolishing unfair wage setting according to gender.
The principle was that an additional local wage framework was to be calculated for each contract area. For each contractual area the number of women who earned under a certain salary was calculated first. This figure was divided by the total membership in the contractual area. The quota is then multiplied by 205 kr. which means that female dominated contractual areas received a large share of the extra pay pot, while the male-dominated received a small percentage.
In the wage negotiations of 2010-2011 too, a similar system has been implemented. The LO unions jointly agreed that those contractual areas with average salaries below a certain level should receive higher increases than more highly paid contractual areas. The principle proved impossible to carry through in the central negotiations. Therefore we expect that the wage difference between female and male dominated occupations will continue to decline in 2010 and 2011.

UK

| Trade union: PCS | Sector: National administration |

Even where individual bargaining units have conducted reviews the constraints enforced by the Treasury has meant that there is such limited money available for pay that there has been little or no progress on equality issues or family-friendly policies.

| Trade union: RCN | Sector: Health |

Pay increases have been weighted for lower pay bands in a three year national pay deal 2008-2011.