Labour proposes bill to tackle gender pay gap

Labour wants companies to publish wage transparency surveys to tackle the gender pay gap.

Pay gaps between male and female workers will have to be published by medium to large size companies under fresh proposals from the Labour Party, writes Political Correspondent Juno McEnroe.

The party has highlighted new data which shows how Irish women earn on average 14% less than their male counterparts, as it launched efforts to try and close the gender pay gap here.

Justice spokesman and party leader Brendan Howlin (pictured) said: “Put another way that equates to women in full time employment working for free for about a month of every year.

“Labour’s Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2017 aims to tackle this issue head on, by requiring companies with 50 workers or more to regularly report on the gender pay gap among their employees. It’s not enough to simply hope that organisations will volunteer this information. We have seen legislation prove effective in countries like Belgium, which has a pay gap of just under 7 per cent.”

As part of International Women’s Week, the Labour Party has also published ‘Closing the Gap’, a new policy document to tackle gender inequality in the workplace.

“Labour understands that there is a range of factors, including the issue of unconscious bias, which contributes to gender inequality in the workplace,” commented spokesperson on Children and Youth Affairs, Jan O’Sullivan.

“Throughout our new policy paper we outline that while there is no one-size-fits-all solution,steps can be taken to pave the way for full gender equality in the workplace. This must include pay, supporting women into work and tackling the glass ceiling effect,”concluded Deputy O'Sullivan.