Women & Gender Equality

(May 2017) Trade unions are showing their support for a legislative initiative on gender pay information that is going through the Senate.The Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2017, if made into law, would require organisations with more than 50 employees to publish regular wage surveys aimed at measuring their internal gender pay gaps.Unions believe that this will be a signifcant boost to the campaign to reduce the gender pay gap.

A new report from the health federation of the CCOO confederation covering the period 2012-2016 confirms the union's concerns over a widening gender pay and employment gap in the health sector. The report finds that women tend to have more precarious contracts with many on temporary contracts while they make up the vast majority of part-time workers and both of these contribute to the persistent gender pay gap. The union wants to see equality plans produced in any health institutions that don't yet have them and existing plans updated. Along with the CCOO, the UGT trade union has called on the

A group of 14 trade unions, including the FOA public services union, the BUPL and SL childcare and social worker unions and the cartel of health unions, has written to the government calling on it to take action to address the persistent gender pay gap. The unions identify the problem as one of labour market structure, with female-dominated work, particularly in health and social services, undervalued and paid less than occupations and sectors dominated by men. The unions argue that at the current pace it will take over 110 years to achieve equal pay. They say that, because this is a

The regional government of Andalucia in Southern Spain has agreed a procedure to provide protection and support to employees who are victims of gender violence. The employer will ensure the right to comprehensive social assistance and the employee will have the right to transfer to another job and to have their data specially protected. Confidentiality will also apply to any dependants and if the worker is temporarily incapacitated as a result of any physical or psychological impact from the violence, they will paid the full level of benefit.

Negotiations covering the public sector are due to begin in early January and unions have included action on equal pay as a priority. They want the employers to agree higher increases for sectors dominated by women. Unions say that comparing similar jobs requiring the same qualifications and training shows that those in sectors dominated by women are paid less than in a sector dominated by men. The FOA public services union argues this is an historic demand that requires coordinated action and it is pleased that has got the support of the many other unions in the public sector bargaining group

In a joint press release the ETUC and EPSU underlined the need for urgent action to tackle the gender pay gap. They were reacting to the publication of the European Commission's Action Plan which addresses eight core themes: improving the application of the equal pay principle; combating segregation in occupations and sectors; initiatives to deal with vertical segregation; reducing the care penalty; better valorizing women's skills, efforts and responsibilities; exposing inequalities and stereotypes; informing about the gender pay gap and enhancing partnerships.

Over 8000 workers employed by Glasgow City Council in Scotland took strike action on 23-24 October to put pressure on their employer to deliver equal pay. The dispute dates back as far as 2006 when a new pay scheme was supposed to end to pay inequality based on gender. Instead, its implementation introduced new discriminatory measures. The action involved women in a wide range of jobs, including school administration workers, learning support workers in schools, nursery workers, home carers, cleaners and catering workers.