Transparency & Corruption, Gender pay gap
First meeting of the year for the EU social partners for central governments: whistleblowers’ protection, digitalisation, violence and harassment on the agenda
At their meeting on 8 February, the EU social partners, EUPAE and TUNED, finalized and adopted a statement calling for an effective transposition of the EU directive on whistleblowers’ protection in central or federal governments
Progress on pay transparency
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
Report highlights how collective bargaining can advance equality
The International Labour Organisation has published a report that shows that the higher the coverage of employees by collective agreements, the lower the wage differences are. Social Dialogue Report 2022: Collective bargaining for an inclusive, sustainable and resilient recovery is based on a review of collective agreements and practices in 80 countries and the legal and regulatory frameworks in 125 countries. It also provides evidence that collective bargaining can contribute to narrowing the gender pay gap with over half (59 per cent) the agreements reviewed in the study reflecting a joint
ETUC welcomes progress on gender pay transparency directive
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
Unions suspend strike action over equal pay
The UNISON and GMB trade unions have suspended the strike action that they had planned for 29 and 30 March after Glasgow City Council made significant concessions towards resolving the dispute over equal pay. However, strike action planned for 20 and 21 April remains in place. The dispute arose over the implementation of the 2019 deal on equal pay that delivered significant pay increases for the predominantly female workers in care, catering and cleaning services. The Council has now said the formula agreed in the 2019 deal will be applied to all jobs covered by the agreement and that it will
Nurses’ unions plan strike action over pay
The Tehy and SuPer trade unions representing nurses and other medical staff have set out plans for strike action to give impetus to the negotiations in health and social services. The two unions want to see positive action on salaries and have set out a five-year rescue programme for the health and social services sector. This includes increases to the basic wage level of 3.6% annually in addition to the normal contract increases that protect purchasing power. With women making up 90% of the care workforce, the unions argue that this is an essential measure to address the persistent gender pay
Unions back action over equal pay
Thousands of council workers in Glasgow in Scotland could be taking strike action on 29 and 30 March unless the local authority responds to demands settle a dispute over equal pay. In 2019, following a union campaign involving strike action, Glasgow council agreed a £500m settlement of equal pay claims up until March 2018 and included a new pay and grading system to rectify issues of unequal pay, primarily of women. Since then, around 5,500 new claims have been lodged for the period prior to March 2018, with nearly 20,000 claimants waiting on settlements for the period after that. The unions