Today has been declared the women’s “no pay” day. Equality campaign in unions are highlighting the average women working fulltime is paid only 80 percent of what her male counterparts earns per hour. It means when you compare pay packets average women is actually work for nothing from today until the end of the year. Our Money reporter** Are asking about with campaigners.
It’s the height of rush our in central London. And as commuters head for the office, campaigners *are handing out leaflets to highlight the gender pay gap which persists despite the fact that the Equal Pay Act was introduced 30 years ago. Now the Fawcett Society which campaigns the equality and the union in Unison who join the forces demand strong actions from governments. They say that action on equal pay is so slow that it will take 80 years for women’s pay to catch up with men’s pay unless something is done. Official statistics show that the average full-time working women earns 17% less per hour than her male equivalent. That means those women are losing out massively earning 4000 ponds less per year than man. They * working for nothing from today to the end of the year. People we are talking to are not impressed.
“I think it really just depend on which industry you are in, oh yeah I think it’s disgusting. Things about this must be changed “
“Well, personally I believe women are as essentially as men they should be paid equally. “
“but they are not “
“no, um but should be”
“outrageous yeah but women ***prove themselves a little bit more “
Well join me now on Bronwyn McKenna from Unison and Katherine Rake from the Fawcett Society. Katherine can I start with you first?. Is it the problem that many women just do different kinds of works and man work part time?”
“That’s part of the problem that women are concentrated on different kinds of professions. But we are undervalued on professions for a very long time. It’s a *** Can’t look after our children. So we must in valuation women’s work. And when women do do the same job as men why they don’t just demand equal pay? The law is there ** happens?
“The law is there, but one thing is they don’t necessarily know that they are paid unequally. Because we have got very * pay system. It’s very difficult for women to find out whether they have been paid equally. Secondly they know those kind of cases enormous penalty can take many many years**** the penalties are too big. “
Bronwyn from what we’ve heard here what do you think the government need to do? Because this situation hasn’t really improved has it?
“It hasn’t, the owners has to been good employers It’s owner’s legal responsibility to pay their staff. Employers should be required to order their pay system to be sure their payments are fair. “
And Katherine said these cases often take a long time, that’s the case isn’t it?
“That’s the case. Unison has the experience that 15 years ago we started to bring claims for women who would deny that suspensions because they were part-time. Many of those cases have to be result women literally died waiting for their cases to be concluded.”
Ok, thank you very much for talking to us. Well later today campaigners will be meeting ministers for women Harriet Harman and they will be pressuring on her to revise and strengthen equality legislation in the next parliament.