Central government, Public Services, Women & Gender Equality
Bargaining will feature key demand on equal pay
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
Report highlights pay inequality in civil service linked to gender share in employment
A new report from the PCS civil service union reveals considerable pay inequality across government linked to the proportion of men/women in each department. For example, a civil service executive officer, in a majority male department is paid £3771 (EUR 4415) (13%) more than an executive officer in a majority female department while a civil service administrative officer, in a majority male department is paid £2675 (EUR 3130) (12.6%) more than an executive officer in a majority female department. The union attributes the problem to the delegation of pay negotiations to departmental level and
70 years of the General Statute for public service workers in France: challenges ahead
Following World War (II) and the experience with fascism and nazism, the French people and government wanted to ensure that civil and public servants were not merely to be regarded as workers that blindly obey orders.
Adaptation to Climate Change: a European strategy still not up to scratch
In February 2021, the European Commission launched a new strategy on adaptation to climate change as part of the European Green Deal. The objective is to make the European Union a climate-resilient society, fully adapted to climate change by 2050.
Decentralisation and Public Services: A Case of Public Sector Restructuring
TRACE – Trade Unions Anticipating Change in Europe – is a EU-funded project coordinated by the ETUI-REHSEducation department on behalf of national trade union confederations and European industry federations affiliated to the ETUC – the European Trade Union Confederation. The focus for everyone is on restructuring, adapted to the needs of different countries and sectors.
Trade unions react to detailed public sector pay analysis
Last month the Wage Structure Committee produce a detailed report on pay in the public services as a basis of a tripartite discussion that is due to begin in the autumn and that will have an impact on negotiations of the next three-year collective agreements in the public sector that will run from April 2024. The committee, with trade union participation, was set up in 2021 as a first step in trying to address the persistent problem of pay inequality across the public services and the major staff shortages across many occupations. The initial reaction of many EPSU affiliates is to welcome the