Activities of Maria da Graça CARVALHO related to 2021/0050(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Strengthening the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women (debate)
Amendments (28)
Amendment 205 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The gender pay gap is caused by various factors, part of which can be attributed to direct and indirect gender pay discrimination. Segregation of the labour market is one of the major root causes of the pay gap and needs to be addressed. A general lack of transparency about pay levels within organisations maintains a situation where gender-based pay discrimination and bias can go undetected or, where suspected, are difficult to prove. Binding measures are therefore needed to improve pay transparency, encourage organisations to review their pay structures to ensure equal pay for women and men doing the same work or work of equal value, and enable victims of discrimination to enforce their right to equal pay. This needs to be complemented by provisions clarifying existing legal concepts (such as the concept of ‘pay’ and ‘work of equal value’) and measures improving enforcement mechanisms and access to justice.
Amendment 213 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) Work-life balance policies should contribute to the achievement of gender equality by promoting the participation of women in the labour market. The application of the principle of equal pay between men and women should be enhanced by eliminating direct and indirect pay discrimination. This does not preclude employers to pay differently workers doing the same work or work of equal value on the basis of objective, gender-neutral and bias-free criteria such as performance and competence.
Amendment 241 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) Article 10 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides that, in defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall aim to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. Article 4 of Directive 2006/54/EC provides that there shall be no direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of sex, notably in relation to pay. Gender- based pay discrimination where a victim’s sex plays a crucial role can take many different forms in practice. It may involve an intersection of various axes of discrimination or inequality where the worker is a member of one or several groups protected against discrimination on the basis of sex, on the one hand, and racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation (as protected under Directive 2000/43/EC or Directive 2000/78/EC), on the other hand. Migrant women and women with disabilities are among groups who face such multiple forms of discrimination. This directive should therefore clarify that, in the context of gender-based pay discrimination, such a combination should be taken into account, thus removing any doubt that may exist in this regard under the existing legal framework. This should ensure that the courts or other competent authorities take due account of any situation of disadvantage arising from intersectional discrimination, in particular for substantive and procedural purposes, including to recognise the existence of discrimination, to decide on the appropriate comparator, to assess the proportionality, and to determine, where relevant, the level of compensation awarded or penalties imposed. Women with disabilities should therefore be included in the scope of this Directive. This Directive should also ensure that the specific obstacles which they face and their needs are taken into account, including in relation to the accessibility of information, the right to compensation and data disaggregation, in compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Amendment 249 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Gender equality is a key economic asset to promote fair and inclusive economic growth and reducing inequalities is a goal in terms of equal treatment as well as in terms of labour market efficiency. In order to respect the right to equal pay between men and women, employers must have pay setting mechanisms or pay structures in place ensuring that there are no pay differences between male and female workers doing the same work or work of equal value that are not justified by objective and gender- neutral factors. Such pay structures should allow for the comparison of the value of different jobs within the same organisational structure. In line with the case law of the Court, the value of work should be assessed and compared based on objective criteria, such as educational, professional and training requirements, skills, effort and responsibility, work undertaken and the nature of the tasks involved.49 _________________ 49 For example, Case C-400/93, Royal Copenhagen, ECLI:EU:C:1995:155; Case C-309/97, Angestelltenbetriebsrat der Wiener Gebietskrankenkasse, ECLI:EU:C:1999:241; Case C-381/99, Brunnhofer, ECLI:EU:C:2001:358; Case C-427/11, Margaret Kenny and Others v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Others [2013] ECLI:EU:C:2013:122, paragraph 28.
Amendment 274 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) Member States should develop specific tools and methodologies to support and guide the assessment of what constitutes work of equal value and to ensure cross-sectoral comparisons. This should facilitate the application of this concept, especially for small and medium- sized enterprises.
Amendment 279 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) Job classification and evaluation systems may, if not used in a gender- neutral manner, in particular when they assume traditional gender stereotypes, reinforce gender pay gap across sectors and result in gender-based pay discrimination. In such case, they contribute to and perpetuate the pay gap, including the pay gap across sectors, by evaluating male and female dominated jobs differently in situations where the worth of the work performed is of equal value. Where gender- neutral job evaluation and classification systems are used, however, they are effective in establishing a transparent pay system and are instrumental to ensure that direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of sex is excluded. They detect in direct pay discrimination related to the undervaluation of jobs typically done by women. They do so by measuring and comparing jobs which are performed in different sectors and whose content is different but of equal value and so support the principle of work of equal value.
Amendment 287 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) The lack of information on the envisaged pay range of a job position creates an information asymmetry which limits the bargaining power of applicants. Ensuring transparency should enable prospective workers to make an informed decision about the expected salary without limiting in any way the employer’s or worker’s bargaining power to negotiate a salary even outside the indicated range. It would also ensure an explicit and non- gender biased basis for pay setting and would disrupt the undervaluation of pay compared to skills and experience. This transparency measure would also address intersectional discrimination where non- transparent pay settings allow for discriminatory practices on several discrimination grounds. The information to be provided to applicants prior to employment, if not published in a job vacancy notice, could be provided to the applicant prior to the job interview by the employer or in a different manner, for instance by the social partners. The information should be provided in a manner that is accessible for persons with disabilities in accordance with the harmonised legal acts of the Union on accessibility, including Directives (EU) 2016/21021a and (EU) 2019/8821b of the European Parliament and of the Council. _________________ 1a Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies (OJ L 327, 2.12.2016, p. 1). 1b Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (OJ L 151, 7.6.2019, p. 70).
Amendment 369 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 29 a (new)
Recital 29 a (new)
Amendment 380 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) Workers should have the necessary procedures at their disposal to facilitate the exercise of their right to access justice. National legislation making use of conciliation or the intervention of an equality body compulsory or subject to incentives or penalties should not prevent parties from exercising their right of access to court. Member States should ensure that women with disabilities, including those under substituted decision-making mechanisms, have access to justice and legal remedies on an equal basis with others.
Amendment 469 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1
Article 2 – paragraph 1
1. This Directive applies to employers in the public and private sectors, including non-standard sectors, such as platform employers, sheltered workshops and any other form of contractual work.
Amendment 476 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2
Article 2 – paragraph 2
2. This Directive applies to all workers who have an employment contract, including contracts for part-time work, contracts for temporary agency work, zero-hour contracts and sheltered or accompanied work contracts, or employment relationship as defined by law, collective agreements and/or practice in force in each Member State with consideration to the case-law of the Court of Justice.
Amendment 484 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. This Directive applies proportionally to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Amendment 509 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g a (new)
(ga) ‘work of equal value’ means work that is determined to be of equal value in accordance with non-discriminatory and objective gender-neutral criteria as set out in Article 4(5).
Amendment 518 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point k a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point k a (new)
Amendment 525 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
(ca) failure by an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to workers with disabilities within the meaning of Article 5 of Directive 2000/78/EC.
Amendment 545 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall take the necessary measures e, after consurlting the social partners and the equality bodies, to ensure that tools or methodologies are established to assess and compare the value of work in line with the criteria set out in this Article. These tools or methodologies mayose tools or methodologies shall be easily accessible by workers and employers. The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) shall certify those tools or methodologies. Those tools or methodologies shall be implemented with the involvement of the social partners at employer or sectoral level, and shall include gender- neutral job evaluation and classification systems.
Amendment 557 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 3
Article 4 – paragraph 3
3. The tools or methodologies shall allow assessing, inreferred to in paragraph 2 shall allow for an assessment, with regard to the value of work, of whether workers are in a comparable situation, on the basis of objective criteria which shall include educational, professional and training requirements, skills, effort and responsibility, work undertaken and the nature of the tasks involved. They shall not contain or be based on criteria which are based, whether directly or indirectly, on workers’ sex. , gender-neutral criteria agreed upon with social partners. Those tools or methodologies shall include, but are not limited to: (a) educational, including formal and non-formal educational, professional and training requirements; (b) skills, including those necessary to meet the requirements of a job, people centred and interpersonal skills and problem solving; (c) effort including mental and psycho- social effort and physical effort; (d) responsibility, including for people, goods and equipment, information and financial resources; (e) working conditions, including those relating to the working environment (physical, psychological or emotional) and the organisational environment. The tools or methodologies referred to in paragraph 2 shall not contain or be based on criteria which are based, whether directly or indirectly, on workers’ sex. Member States shall provide support to employers and the social partners, including training and detailed guidance on establishing the criteria referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph and the tools and methodologies referred to in paragraph 2.
Amendment 577 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 4
Article 4 – paragraph 4
4. Whenever differences in pay can be attributed to a single source establishing the pay conditions, the assessment whether workers are carrying out the same work or work of equal value shall not be limited to situations in which female and male workers work for the same employer but mayshall be extended to that single source and to cross-sector comparisons. The assessment shall also not be limited to workers employed at the same time as the worker concerned or in the same sector nor to workers performing their work in the same establishment. Where no real comparator can be established, a comparison with a hypothetical comparator based on the criteria referred to in paragraph 3 and agreed in coordination with social partners or the use of other evidence allowing to presume alleged discrimination shall be permitted. The hypothetical comparator shall facilitate cross-sectoral comparisons.
Amendment 585 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Work shall be deemed of equal value if, based on a comparison of two groups of workers which have not been formed in an arbitrary manner, the work performed is comparable, based on an overall assessment of the requirements and nature of the work, and criteria such as knowledge and skills, responsibility, load and effort. In assessing the nature of the work, particular account is to be taken of working conditions. For the avoidance of doubt, the working hours shall not be a relevant factor. If professional experience is to be taken into account as one factor to determine if work is of equal value, the party claiming that such factor must be regarded shall bear the burden of proof to show that increased professional experience generally – and not only in specific cases – leads to added value for the work actually performed by the workers.
Amendment 698 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(ba) the pay gap between female and male workers without disabilities and female and male workers with disabilities, where they have communicated their disability to their employer;
Amendment 743 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3
Article 8 – paragraph 3
3. The employer shall publish the information referred to in paragraph 1, points (a) to (f) on an annual basis in a user-friendly way on its website or shall otherwise make it publicly available. The information shall be published in accessible formats for persons with disabilities in accordance with the harmonised legal acts of the Union on accessibility. The information from the previous four years, if available, shall also be accessible upon request. In addition, the employer shall share this information with the monitoring body referred to in paragraph 6.
Amendment 756 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 4
Article 8 – paragraph 4
4. Member States may decide to compile the information set out in paragraph 1, points (a) to (f) themselves, on the basis of administrative data such as data provided by employers to the tax or social security authorities. This information shall be made public in accordance with paragraph 6. Member States shall provide support, technical assistance and training, in particular for microenterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises, to comply with the obligations pursuant to this Article.
Amendment 848 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4
Article 9 – paragraph 4
4. If the joint pay assessment reveals differences in average pay for equal work or work of equal value between female and male workers which cannot be justified by objective and gender-neutral criteria, the employer shall remedy the situation, in close cooperation with the workers’ representatives, labour inspectorate, and/or equality body. Either party can choose to give the negotiation mandate over the issue to the workers' or employers' representatives. Such action shall include the establishment of gender-neutral job evaluation and classification to ensure that any direct or indirect pay discrimination on grounds of sex is excluded.
Amendment 895 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 13 – paragraph 2
Article 13 – paragraph 2
2. Equality bodies and, workers’ representatives and employers' representatives shall also have the right to act on behalf or in support of several workers, with the latter’s approval.
Amendment 1035 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 26 – paragraph 3 – point c
Article 26 – paragraph 3 – point c
(c) to aggregate data received from employers pursuant to Article 8(6), and publish thisose data in a user-friendly manner and in an accessible manner for persons with disabilities in accordance with the harmonised legal acts of the Union on accessibility;
Amendment 1050 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 26 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 26 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Each Member State shall establish a national gender action plan setting out concrete measures and corrective actions to address inequality in the labour market. To that end, Member States shall collect and analyse data on the segregation of labour markets and the biases in equal pay for work of equal value. The Member States shall make those data and analytical tools publicly available, and shall provide them to the social partners for further action. The Commission shall create a Union Gender Action Plan setting out concrete actions and corrective measures based on collected and analysed data on labour market segregation and the biases in equal pay for work of equal value. The Commission shall present the Union Gender Action Plan to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission every five years.
Amendment 1053 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 26 – paragraph 4 b (new)
Article 26 – paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. To avoid excessive administrative burden to SMEs under 50 employees, the pay assessment can be done with free and simple of charge, easy to use and accessible assessment online tool provided by EIGE and Member States. The EIGE shall, with the involvement of the social partners and national authorities, create an online interactive pay transparency and equality tool to facilitate gender pay analytics and assessments in small and medium enterprises. The EIGE shall be provided with adequate resources for that purpose. That tool shall be free of charge and easy to use. It shall be based on an accessible methodology. It shall be available in all official languages of the Union.
Amendment 1066 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 28 – paragraph 1
Article 28 – paragraph 1
Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with up-to-date gender pay gap data annually and in a timely manner. These statistics shall be broken down by gender, economic sector, working time (full-time/part-time), economic control (public/private ownership), disability and age and be calculated on an annual basis.