Equality, Economic Policy, Europe

As the trend towards public sector pay cuts began to take hold across Europe, EPSU decided it was important to monitor the impact of those cuts and the way they were being implemented. Two major reports produced by the Labour Research Department set out not just the facts and figures in 10 countries where cuts were imposed but also provide case studies to show what those cuts have meant for individual public sector workers.

(August 2016) A European Commission analysis of temporary employment across Europe not only reveals an increase in temporary contracts but shows a declining trend in transitions from temporary to permanent contracts. The analysis covers the period 2008 to 2014 and shows a drop in transition rates from temporary to permanent jobs in most EU countries and an increase in the transition rate from temporary jobs to unemployment in the majority of EU Member States. These changes in transition rates occurred alongside an increase in the share of temporary employees in the total number of employees in

(August 2016) The European Commission has launched a second-stage consultation with the social partners on potential European level action to improve work-life balance. This could be in relation to maternity leave rights, paternity and/or parental leave as well as carers' leave. More rights to flexible working might also be part of the equation. The Commission has given the European social partners until the end of August to decided whether or not they wish to negotiate on any of these. Read more at DG Employment.

(October 2016) In response to the latest European Commission consultation the ETUC has said that it is willing to negotiate with employer organisations on work-life balance and specifically to improve the current parental leave agreement. The ETUC would also be ready to negotiate an agreement on paternity leave, as this was one of the matters that we proposed to address in the context of the autonomous work programme of the EU social partners 2015 - 2017.

(October 2016) The Eurofound research agency has published a new report examining the extent of the gender employment gap across Europe and indicating that on current progress it will take more than 30 years to bring women's employment rates up to those of men. The report also highlights some of the main measures that are required to increase women's employment, including increased affordable childcare provision, improved maternity, paternity and parental leave and more working time flexibility.

(March 2017) A new report, produced jointly by the European Commission and the International Labour Organisation, shows that European countries with coordinated bargaining systems have managed to prevent the growth of inequalities on the labour market. At the same time the erosion of collective bargaining in other EU member states has led to more low-paid jobs or increasing inequality among the workforce. The report also looks at a range of other inequalities such as in working time, training etc.

(March 2017) Marking International Women's Day with a focus on the gender pay gap, both EPSU and the ETUC underlined the need for urgent action to deliver pay rises across Europe with a particular emphasis on higher increases for sectors and occupations dominated by women. Flat-rate increases, job evaluation and other measures were highlighted as part of the strategy to address the gender pay gap and low pay among women workers.

(May 2017) Labour and gender equality issues featured at the recent G20 meeting in Germany. The G20 brings together the 19 leading industrial nations (including France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey and the UK) and the European Union. The group recognised that: "minimum wage legislation and collective bargaining in particular can set income floors to reduce income inequality, eliminate poverty wages and achieve sustainable wage growth". Trade union and women's organisations also came together to urge G20 leaders to take action on equality in employment and decent work for women.

The European Trade Union Institute has published an updated analysis of the treatment of social issues in the European Semester - the process of economic policy coordination. This reveals, for example, the extent to which the country-specific recommendations address the question of collective bargaining, with the European institutions calling for reforms in many countries, with the accent on decentralisation of bargaining despite the lack of evidence that this produces any economic benefits.

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.

The Eurofound research agency has published a new report that analyses how gender pay audits have been implemented in four countries - Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. It is based on company-level gender pay reports and reveals that there have been mixed results in terms of compliance, in the initial phase. It also highlights room for improvement in engaging employee representatives and in raising employees’ awareness.

A new report commissioned by EPSU provides an update of trends in the gender pay gap in the public services between 2010 and 2016. While the overall gender pay gap was only 0.3 percentage points lower across the whole economy and 1.6 percentage points lower in the business sector at the end of the period, it fell by 1.9 percentage points in education, 2.2 percentage points in health and social work and 2.3 percentage points in public administration. The overall pay gap was 14.9% across the whole economy in 2016 compared to 10.7% in education, 17.9% in health and social work and 9.4% in public

The ETUC has called for swift adoption of the draft directive on work-life balance as a key measure that will make a real difference to women's pay and employment prospects. According to the ETUC the Directive would strengthen rights in many member states. For example paid paternity leave of 10 days would be new in Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Croatia, and Slovakia, while four months' paid and non-transferable parental leave would improve rights in Bulgaria, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK. Measures on carers' lave and the right to request flexible working arrangements