The members of the EACB follow the joint work of Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) and the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) on the Commission’s legislative proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council strengthening the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms.
We appreciate efforts of the European Parliament MEPs’ of EMPL and FEMM, and of the European Commission in tackling the inadequate enforcement of the right to equal pay.
However, we have concerns that current proposals, i.e. both the Commission legislative proposal and the draft report of EMPL and FEMM (2021/0050(COD)), do not sufficiently reflect factual and legal reality and may excessively burden employers. The EC’s assumption of a gender pay gap of 14% in the EU seems excessive and should be adjusted by taking into account differences in the derivation of pay differentials. Moreover, the draft proposal does not foresee a special treatment for collective bargaining agreements. This specificity should be recognised as in number of EU Member States collective agreements are binding and as such they are aimed at ensuring a variety of labour rights (legal minimum), including those according to which employees are remunerated irrespective of gender.
We kindly invite you to look into our position paper for more details.