Pay Gap Widens
The Government has been accused of a lack of action over equal pay – by its own Women and Work Commission.
The commission was set up in 2004 by Tony Blair when he was Prime Minister.
In its latest report, the group says that the pay gap between men and women is widening – not narrowing.
‘Things Can Only Get Better’ – was Labour’s catchy jingle in the 1997 general election campaign
But when it comes to equal pay – things have actually got worse.
The commission puts the gender pay gap at 22.6% in 2008 - which it said was worse than in 2007 when women were paid 21.9% less per hour than men.
The commission, whose members are drawn from employers and unions, said job segregation was still the norm.
Women continue to dominate in caring, cashiering, clerical, cleaning and catering jobs – where pay rates are much lower.
Now as a statement of the bleedin’ obvious – that takes the biscuit.
Because that was also the case 10 years ago - when the employers and the unions promised a better deal for many thousands of underpaid and undervalued female dominated jobs.
Of course, the employers and the unions all say they’re in favour of equal pay – that’s what Single Status was supposed to be about.
But all these years later they are still bogged down in endless talking shops – rather than getting to grips with the size and scale of the problem.
The commission was set up in 2004 by Tony Blair when he was Prime Minister.
In its latest report, the group says that the pay gap between men and women is widening – not narrowing.
‘Things Can Only Get Better’ – was Labour’s catchy jingle in the 1997 general election campaign
But when it comes to equal pay – things have actually got worse.
The commission puts the gender pay gap at 22.6% in 2008 - which it said was worse than in 2007 when women were paid 21.9% less per hour than men.
The commission, whose members are drawn from employers and unions, said job segregation was still the norm.
Women continue to dominate in caring, cashiering, clerical, cleaning and catering jobs – where pay rates are much lower.
Now as a statement of the bleedin’ obvious – that takes the biscuit.
Because that was also the case 10 years ago - when the employers and the unions promised a better deal for many thousands of underpaid and undervalued female dominated jobs.
Of course, the employers and the unions all say they’re in favour of equal pay – that’s what Single Status was supposed to be about.
But all these years later they are still bogged down in endless talking shops – rather than getting to grips with the size and scale of the problem.
