Brussels, 09/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - Despite the 2006 EU directive on sexual equality in the workplace, pay gaps between men and women persist and have even expanded, explain European Parliament parliamentarians in a resolution adopted on Thursday 8 October by 344 to 156 with 68 abstentions.
The MEPs therefore urge the European Commission to unveil new legislation with more effective resources for supervising implementation and application in the member states. EP rapporteur Anna Záborská (EPP, Slovakia) commented that equal pay for equal work is a fair principle that must be valued by all employers and since this is not yet the case, better legislation is required.
Member states are often slow to apply and ensure respect of equal pay. Pay and pension gaps between the sexes average 16.4% and 38.5% respectively according to figures for 2013 from the EU's statistical office, Eurostat, with significant differences among countries. Only two member states, the Netherlands and France, have transposed the rules into their legislation in a “sufficiently clear and correct” manner, explains the resolution. The pay gap between men and women is greatest in Estonia, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and the smallest in Poland, Italy, Malta and Slovenia.
To fill the pay gap, MEPs recommend compulsory pay audits for big companies quoted on the stock exchange and possible penalties at EU level. The resolution also calls for other action, such as a classification and harmonised evaluation of gender-neutral jobs, objective criteria for comparing work “of equal value” pay transparency (to reveal sexual prejudices and pay discrimination), free legal aid for the victims of discrimination, a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or change of sex, the reconciling of work and private life (protection of maternity rights, preventing unfair dismissal during pregnancy) and positive measures to boost women's participation in the decision-making process. (Original version in French by Isabelle Lamberty)