Women's Views on News |
| Gender pay gap: action not small steps Posted: 02 Nov 2015 02:00 AM PST
In July the Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to end the gender pay gap ‘within a generation’ by forcing large companies – those employing more than 250 people – to publish information about the difference between average male and female earnings. But as Sally Brett wrote for Touchstone, in his conference speech Cameron said this would "create the pressure we need for change, driving women's wages up". Yet, Conservative MEPs were recently in a minority who voted against a gender equality resolution in the European Parliament that included a recommendation for employers to work in partnership with trade unions to monitor the gender pay gap and develop action plans to close it. The TUC believes the government must go much further, and wants employers to be made to publish more detailed information about gender pay differences in their workplace and to publish action plans to close the pay gap in their workplace. The TUC also wants companies who fail to comply with the law to be fined. The pay gap between men and women is currently 19.1 per cent. This figure counts the whole workforce, full and part time – and means, as the Fawcett Society points out, that women work for free for one hour and forty minutes each day. And Equal Pay Day, which marks the point at which women working full-time effectively stop earning, was on 9 November 2015. And Brett reported that in its response to the government's consultation paper on gender pay gap reporting the TUC set out a ten-point plan that might make gender pay gap reporting the "really big move" that the Prime Minister claims it will be. 1. Gender pay gap information must be shared with employees and trade unions; 2. Information needs to be detailed enough to shine a light on the main causes of the pay gap; 3. A standard method for calculating the gender pay gap must be prescribed; 4. A supporting narrative is needed that explains how the gender pay gap is calculated and action planned to narrow it; 5. There must be adequate monitoring and enforcement; 6. Mandatory gender pay gap reporting must start in 2016; 7. The threshold for reporting should be lowered; 8. Guidance must encourage equal pay audits and transparent pay practices; 9. Equal pay questionnaires should be reinstated, employment tribunal fees repealed and collective bargaining promoted; and 10. An analysis of pay gaps by ethnicity and disability should be encouraged too. Earlier this week Cameron announced that firms will now also be forced to include bonus payments when they publish details of the pay gap between men and women employees and that gender pay gap reporting will also be extended to public sector employees, Responding to this, the TUC’s General Secretary, Frances O'Grady, said: “Publishing information on gender pay gaps in salaries and bonuses is a start. "But it is just that – a start. "Employers need to look at why women are still being paid less than men and do something meaningful about it. "If the Prime Minister is serious about ending the gender pay gap within a generation he must not delay mandatory pay gap reporting and he should extend the law to medium-size companies as well as large employers," she continued. "And companies that don't comply with the law should be fined. "If the government really wants to help women workers, it should also stop cutting tax credits and public services that make up a vital part of women’s income. "It is shocking the UK still has such a large gender pay gap 45 years after the Equal Pay Act," she said, "and I would urge all women concerned about their pay to join their union, to get their voice heard and their interests represented at work."  |
| Posted: 02 Nov 2015 01:35 AM PST
On the International Day for Older People last month, the Midlands TUC Pensioners Committee, in conjunction with the British Pensioners Trade Union Action Association, held a 'Putting Pensions Right' conference in Coventry. It aimed to raise awareness about the problems facing pensioners and to confront the myths surrounding pensions and older people. The conference also heard about a new TUC report into which highlights the disparities in healthy life expectancy in the region, showing that the lowest healthy life expectancies were to be found in areas of greatest need. The figures also demonstrated that many people will now be retiring after the average healthy life expectancy age. To see the Healthy Life Expectancy report, click here. Rob Johnston, the Midlands TUC Policy and Campaigns Officer, told the conference that "we have to fight the myth of inter-generational unfairness, the idea that pensioners are rich while young people are poor and that we should take money away from older people to make life better for young people." "There are enormous differences between rich pensioners and poorer pensioners. "For instance, the 75-84 year age group comprises six per cent of the richest decile and the six per cent of the poorest decile. "The focus," he pointed out, "should be on inequality not a generational battle. "It's also a myth that pensioners have escaped from the government's cuts," he continued. "The 'triple lock' on the state pension only looks relatively generous due to the appalling squeeze on wages, whilst a quarter of all social security cuts implemented between 2010 and 2016/17 will fall on pensioner families with a large proportion of the losses due to the change from RPI the lower CPI measure of inflation. "The so called freedom to cash in pensions at 55 was introduced without consultation and has many dangers. "A different approach would be to help people towards sensible good value solutions that give them a sustainable income in retirement, provide insurance so they don't run out of money if they live longer than expected and, ideally, are collective schemes so that investment risk, longevity risk can be shared and costs are kept to a minimum. "On the positive side, auto-enrolment has been a success, with opt out rates at just 10 per cent. This has started to reverse the long-term decline in participation in workplace pension schemes. "Nevertheless, challenges still remain with five million workers, the majority of them women, currently excluded from auto-enrolment. "The DWP will be reviewing auto-enrolment in 2017 and this is an opportunity for us to outline how auto-enrolment can be improved. Pam Flynn, of the National Assembly of Women, said that the pension gap between men and women across Europe was now 39 per cent. "Those fortunate to work for employers with occupational pension schemes have often had to give up pay rises to keep their jobs. "Cashing in pension pots is the biggest con of all," she continued. "Up to three-quarters of monies withdrawn will be taxable. "This is nothing more than a tax fishing exercise. "We need a review of pensions that deals with issues such as low pay, broken employment records and maternity leave. "We need to remember that the Pensions Act is designed to be cost neutral. However, by 2040 only 35 per cent of pensions will be better off, 20 per cent will be the same while 45 per cent will be worse off," she said. Sandra Durkin of the British Pensioners Trade Union Action Association (BPTUAA) endorsed the TUC’s document Young against Old –What`s really causing wealth inequality? urging delegates to beware of government attempts at divide and rule. "The current generation of pensions are the last that will be better off than when their parents were in retirement," she warned. "Young peoples' ability to save has been considerably reduced – and even young professionals are having difficulties paying into their occupational pension schemes. "The real reason for OAPs' wealth is down to the massive increase in house prices. However, not all pensioners own their own home. "What is needed is to increase young peoples' earnings via proper skills training as this will enable them to get highly paid jobs," she said. "Current government rules prevent this as if you want to go on a Level 3 course and are aged over 24 then you have to take out an Adult Learning Loan. "There also needs to be better pay bargaining and job guarantee schemes that work. The tax system should be linked to wealth, not just to income."  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Women's Views on News. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |