Activities of Edite ESTRELA related to 2011/2285(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the European Parliament's recommendations to the Commission on application of the principle of equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of equal value
Amendments (11)
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Considers that a labour market free of stereotypes could increase not just women’s income, but also Member States’ gross domestic product; notes that, according to the findings of several studies, if female participation on the labour market were to rise to 70%, matching the male rate, this would have a highly beneficial economic impact (between 4% and 8%) on EU GDP;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses that failure to apply the principle of ‘equal pay for equal work or work of equal value’ undermines the Europe 2020 employment objectives. The more active involvement of women on the employment market helps enhance the sustainability of insurance schemes, particularly in the light of demographic trends;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Maintains that greater female employability, especially in the top flight, could help to narrow gender pay gaps; points to the need for women to play a more active part in economic decision- taking, using their influence to bring about solutions encompassing a gender equality perspective; draws attention to studies which have found that there is a strong correlation between larger numbers of women in company management positions and higher company profits from assets, sales, and investment capital;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Considers that pay gaps are a cause and a consequence of gender inequality and that the only way to give practical effect to the principle of ‘equal pay for equal work or work of equal value’ is to adopt policies enabling family responsibilities to be shared equally between men and women;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Points out that family responsibilities limit women’s career options; notes that women are, for that reason, over- represented in part-time work, a fact which greatly reduces the duration of gainful employment, and make up most of the workforce in the informal economy, in which they are more likely to be in precarious jobs, more vulnerable to dismissal, and not properly covered by social security systems;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Considers it a priority to promote a new culture of shared responsibility, both in private life and at work, to replace the traditional distribution of roles between women and men, while stepping up policies designed to reconcile the workplace and home life, including infrastructures for the care of children and the elderly and parental leave;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Deplores the fact that, although Parliament endorsed the revision of Directive 92/85/EEC, relating to maternity leave, on 20 October 2010, the Council has still not adopted a formal position on the proposal; points out that if the female employment rate is to reach 75% and pay gaps are to be narrowed, as called for in the EU 2020 strategy, further measures will have to be implemented to facilitate work-life balance; calls on the Member States to determine their position on these matters in order to pave the way for institutional negotiations to produce the necessary agreement;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission to seek optimum coordination between Member States under the employment guidelines with a view to applying the principle of equal pay for equal work and work of equal value; calls on Member States to adopt extensive legally binding rules in order to implement this principle in practical terms the principle of equal pay for equal work and work of equal valueand, where judged necessary, step up national provisions by introducing penalties on a par with those applicable to other labour law infringements such as undeclared work;
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Maintains that the concept of ‘work of equal value’ needs to be clarified more fully; considers that the duties serving to determine the ‘equal value’ of different kinds of work should be assessed on the basis of objective criteria and non- discriminatory analysis; also believes that, when evaluating ‘equal pay’ and laying down wage scales, it is necessary to factor in the individual components of the pay- packet, in particular the basic salary and fringe benefits;
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Maintains that the appropriate effective legal procedures are required in order to eliminate pay gaps; recognises the usefulness of labour inspections in this area and considers that judges, lawyers, and labour inspectors must be given specific training and opportunities to acquire the necessary expertise in wage discrimination issues;
Amendment 139 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Maintains that workers’ and employers’ organisations and other appropriate bodies, such as government gender equality commissions, should be involved in the adoption of policies and measures under the Member States’ national programmes for equality at work; believes that the purpose of their involvement should be to improve understanding of, and publicise, best practices and laws aimed at promoting wider application of equal pay and to set up systems for monitoring and oversight of their implementation;