Athens, 07/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - To coincide with International Women's Day, the Commission made recommendations to the member states on 7 March to reduce the pay gap. This gap stands at 16% between the highest average salary for men and that of women doing equivalent work. The member states are obliged to report to the Commission on the actions they have taken on this basis at the end of December. If the results proved disappointing, the Commission will consider additional provisions.
The recommendations adopted by the Commission this Friday present the member states with various measures to set in place to reduce the pay gap in Europe, which is still equivalent to nearly two months of work being carried out for free by women compared to men. Reding is calling above all for greater transparency in the remuneration systems. "If companies really respect the principle of equal pay for equal work, then they should have nothing to hide", she said. The measures recommended cover the right of employees to request information, broken down by sex, on levels of pay, and the employers' duty regularly to communicate information also broken down by sex on the average remuneration for each position. Audits should be carried out into salaries in large companies and in order to take pay equality better into account in collective negotiations. "Women should not be paid less simply because they are kept in the dark about what their male colleagues earn. Greater transparency will help close the gender pay gap", the Reding explains. At least one of the measures recommended must be set in place by the member states by the end of 2015, when they must report back on the efforts made to reduce the pay gap. (MD)