Brussels, 29/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - The principle of equal payment for men and women for work of equal value, as laid down in European legislation (Directive 2006/54/EC), is a long way from being effectively applied in the countries of the EU. This observation was the subject of a discussion on Tuesday 28 February at the parliamentary committee on women's rights and gender equality.
During her speech, rapporteur Edit Bauer (EPP, Slovakia), called on the European Commission to propose a modification to the revised directive by 15 February 2013 at the latest. A draft report criticises the lack of transparency and absence of precise and reliable statistics on salary structure, including premiums, bonuses and other benefits. The professional assessment and classification of posts should also be in line with the principle of equality between men and women. The MEP Andrea Ceskova (ECR, Czech Republic), said that if it is necessary to “focus on average hourly pay” in order to analyse pay gaps between male and female workers, “we should also take account of the differences between the various sectors of employment and the way businesses are run”. The FEMM committee argues in favour of supervisory bodies being set in place to monitor the equality of treatment in the payment system, working conditions and social security regimes. The document also proposes that these bodies should be given legal powers to impose sanctions in the event of infringements of the principle of equal pay for equal work. (SD/transl.fl)