Activites

• 1997/06/30 Final act published in Official Journal
• 1997/06/12 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T4-0335/1997 summary

    When it adopted the report by Mrs Laura GONZALEZ ALVAREZ (GUE/NGL, E) on a code of practice on the implementation of equal pay, the European Parliament took the view that this code would help towards creating a more gender-neutral job-classification and job evaluation system and could serve as an instrument to reduce discrimination as regards wages. It emphasized that the code of conduct must apply to all employees including apprentices and those working for home) whether on full-time, part-time, casual or temporary contracts, regardless of length of service. An awareness and information campaign is vital to ensure that the social partners are aware of the code of conduct. Parliament called on the European Commission to provide information, training and guidance targeted at the social partners involved in decisions about pay. Parliament took the view that the public sector should set an example by implementing the code of conduct rapidly but emphasized that the first requirement for putting the code into practice was job evaluation with a view to detecting discrimination. The European Commission must therefore devise gender-free job evaluation schemes and draw up appropriate guidelines. For Parliament, it would also be useful if a clearer distinction were established between wage components which result from societal developments and those which are mainly bound to wage settlements where gender-biased arguments are more easily introduced in wages. Since negotiations between the social partners are essential for equal pay, collective agreements must respect the principles of non-discrimination, and women should be involved more closely. To facilitate the negotiations of the social partners, Parliament feels that the Commission should compile a database able to give advice to employers and employees and their representatives on equal pay for work of equal value. The Member States and the Commission are also called upon to encourage transparency in this field (particularly by comprehensible statistics on wage levels and better access to information on pay components). The Commission is also asked to collect examples of good practice in the Member States in this field and monitor the actual implementation of the code of practice. Should there be no reduction of inequalities as regards pay in the next three years, the Commission should envisage making the code of practice into a legally binding instrument. Recalling once again the importance of an equitable division of family duties between men and women, which is one of the root causes of segregation on the labour market, it once again expresses its wish to see Article 119 of the Treaty expanded in such a way that the right to equal pay for work of equal value is enshrined therein. Finally, it calls on the Member States to set up a network of experts responsible for verifying compliance with legislation on remuneration and for providing for court proceedings and penalties which will ensure that it is applied in practice. �

• 1997/06/11 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 1997/04/16 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A4-0143/1997
• 1996/09/05 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 1996/07/17 Non-legislative basic document published
  • COM(1996)0336 summary

    OBJECTIVE: adoption of a code of practice with a view to helping reduce the difference between women and men's incomes, for work of equal value. SUBSTANCE: the Commission document is a follow-up to the Memorandum on Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value, published in 1994. Its purpose is to provide concrete advice for employers and collective bargaining partners at business, sectoral or intersectoral level to ensure that the principle of equality between women and men performing work of equal value is applied to all aspects of pay. It aims to eliminate sexual discrimination whenever pay structures are based on job classification and evaluation systems. The Code is intended to be applied in the workplace both in the public and in the private sector. Employers are encouraged to follow the recommendations in the Code, adapting them to the size and the structure of their businesses. The nature of the approaches and measures set out in the Code is neither exhaustive nor legally binding. The Code, drawn up after intensive consultations with the social partners, essentially proposes two things: 1. that negotiators at all levels, whether on the side of the employers or the unions, who are involved in the determination of pay systems, should carry out an analysis of the remuneration system and evaluate the data required to detect sexual discrimination in the pay structures so that remedies can be found; 2. that a plan for follow-up should be drawn up and implemented to eliminate any sexual discrimination evident in the pay structures. �

Documents

• Non-legislative basic document published: COM(1996)0336
• Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A4-0143/1997
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T4-0335/1997

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)