Trade union action to promote equal pay for work of equal value.

ITUC Policy Brief : Trade union action to promote equal pay for work of equal value.


- CONTENT -

THE GENDER PAY GAP: KEY DATA AND FACTS AT A GLOBAL LEVEL. 
WHAT DRIVES THE GENDER PAY GAP?
  WHY DO WE NEED EQUAL PAY? 
 WHAT CAN BE DONE TO HELP CLOSE THE GENDER PAY GAP? 
TRADE UNION ACTION IN CLOSING THE GENDER PAY GAP AROUND THE WORLD. RECOMMENDATIONS.

The urgency and commitment to close the gender wage gap has never been more important and it is at the core of the trade union call for a New Social Contract. As the 4th ITUCWorld Women’s Conference OutcomeDocument states, trade unions are calling for:
 1. The creation of 575 million new decent jobs by 2030, including in the care economy and other strategic sectors that benefit people and the planet, as well as the formalisation of one billion informal workers, the majority of whom are women. 
2. Equal pay and anti-discrimination legislation, with effective implementation and access to remedy, in line with international labour standards such as ILO Conventions 100 and 111, to ensure equal treatment to excluded groups of workers, such as migrant and Indigenous women, women of colour and disabled women – groups among whom pay gaps are higher. 
3. Pay transparency legislation along with measures and accessible data on wage levels for all categories of employment disaggregated by gender.
 4. Quotas and/or targeted initiatives to train, recruit and retain women in underrepresented sectors and jobs (such as STEM) to tackle both horizontal and vertical gender-based occupational segregation across sectors and job categories. 
5. Elimination of gender-based violence and harassment at work and the ratification and effective implementation of ILO C190 and R206. 
6. Increased public investments in the care sector and adoption of family-friendly policies to support the reconciliation of work and family responsibilities. 
7. Minimum living wages, established through statutory processes or collective bargaining, as set out in the ILO Centenary Declaration. 
8. Adequate universal social protection systems and floors in line with ILO Convention 102 and Recommendation 202. 
9. The centrality of collective bargaining and social dialogue to put an end to the gender pay gap.

International Trade Union Confederation -  
Boulevard du Jardin Botanique, 20 1000 Brussels, Belgium.
info@ituc-csi.org - www.ituc-csi.org - Phone: +32 (0)2 224 0211.

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