EU adopts new transparency rules for equal pay for men and women

MEPs have adopted a new directive aimed at greater equal pay for men and women (Illustrative image). © FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP

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2 min

The European Parliament adopted on Thursday 30 March a directive designed to force employers in the European Union to be transparent in order to guarantee equal pay for women and men, providing for fines in the event of pay discrimination.

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The new rules, resulting from a proposal by the European Commission in March 2021 and which will still have to be endorsed by the Council (Member States), should make it possible to better compare men's and women's pay. They were largely adopted by MEPs (427 votes in favour, 79 against and 76 abstentions).

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Equal pay for equal work. And for equal pay, we need transparency. Women need to know if their employers are treating them fairly. And when they don't, they must be able to defend themselves and get what they deserve," said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Employees and their representatives will have the right to ask the employer for clear and comprehensive information on individual and average pay levels, broken down by gender, the European Parliament said in a statement, adding that "pay secrecy will be prohibited".

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Where there are at least 100 employees in the workforce, these employers will be required to regularly publish information on the gender pay gap. If a difference of at least 5% is found, which the employer cannot objectively justify, the employer will have to carry out an assessment of the salaries in cooperation with the employee representatives.

Possible compensation for victims of discrimination

Member states will have to put in place effective sanctions, such as fines, for employers who break the rules. A victim of discrimination will have the right to claim compensation. Finally, Parliament stresses that if an employee considers that the principle of equal pay has not been applied and takes the case to court, it will be up to the employer to prove that there has been no discrimination.

Once adopted by the Council, the Directive will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal, and Member States will have to transpose the new elements into national law within three years.

Women earn 13% less per hour than men for the same work on average across the European Union, according to Commission statistics for 2020. This gap is only 0.7% in Luxembourg, but rises to 15.8% in France, 18.3% in Germany and up to 22.3% in Latvia.

► Read also: Equal pay in China: we are almost there, finally on paper only

(

With AFP)

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