Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1307485
JAMES DEBONO MALTA has been described as a laggard in implementing pro- posed EU rules giving employees the right to obtain information on pay levels in their workplace, broken down by gender for cat- egories of employees doing the same work or work of equal val- ue. A report from the European Foundation for the Improve- ment of Living and Working Conditions says 12 member states who have not implement- ed any of the measures pro- posed by the Commission and who have no plans to do so are dragging their feet on the re- form. The group includes Bul- garia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Greece, Hungary, Malta, Latvia, Romania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The report blames the COV- ID-19 pandemic for the lack of progress, noting that this could have acted as a "brake on some taking action, as other priorities have emerged". But in other countries, "delays have occurred due to internal political debates, pre-dating COVID". Moreover, plans an- nounced by the European Com- mission to regulate at EU level has prompted some member states to adopt "a wait-and-see position". The gender pay gap in gross hourly earnings in the EU was 14.8% in 2018. According to sal- ariesinmalta.com's Gender Pay Gap Report 2020, in Malta the figure is at 10%, at the expense of women. This means that for every one euro that a man earns, a woman is only paid 90 cents, according to an analysis of over 13,500 single salary ob- servations, provided by over 300 companies by the end of 2019. Other reports suggested that the gender pay gap in Malta had shot up from 7.8% in 2007 to 12% in 2017 as more women started entering the labour mar- ket. Stakeholders in Malta had mixed reactions to the EU pro- posal for compulsory pay trans- parency, which would see em- ployees' salaries or pay levels being openly disclosed. The issue was discussed dur- ing a seminar organised by the National Commission for the Promotion for Equality in No- vember 2019 with the General Workers Union and the Union Ħaddiema Maqgħudin coming out strongly in favour of wage transparency measures. But small business chamber GR- TU and the Malta Employers' Association advocated a more cautious approach towards the gender pay gap, warning about increased bureaucracy. Fighting the pay gap To help combat discrimina- tory pay practices by employ- ers, the European Commission recommended in 2014 the in- troduction of pay transparency measures in all member states. But more than half still have not implemented any such meas- ures. A non-binding Recommenda- tion on Pay Transparency, en- courages states to introduce at least one of the following three measures: giving employees the right to obtain information on pay levels in their workplace, broken down by gender for cat- egories of employees doing the same work or work of equal val- ue; produce pay reports describ- ing the average pay by category of employee or position, broken down by gender; or requiring companies to conduct pay au- dits with detailed analysis of pay differences between men and women by category of employee or position, as well as detailed information on pay and pay dif- ferentials on grounds of gender. The first measures requiring companies to disclose informa- tion about the pay of their fe- male and male employees were implemented by the Scandinavi- an member states along with It- aly in the 1990s and early 2000s. They were followed by Austria, Belgium and France in the early 2010s. Following the EC recommen- dation, Germany, Lithuania and the United Kingdom passed legislation requiring compa- nies to produce pay reports, and Germany also legislated for non-mandatory pay audits. The Irish government intro- duced a Gender Pay Gap Infor- mation Bill, obliging employers to publish pay reports annu- ally. Five more member states – Estonia, Ireland, the Nether- lands, Portugal and Spain – are advancing legal proposals, yet none have come to the stage of implementation. In the Netherlands, the pro- posal for legislation on pay transparency was put on hold in the 2018 parliamentary debate; a new proposal was submitted in March 2019 by four opposition parties. Portugal, which has obliged state-owned companies to com- pile pay reports since 2014, in- troduced legislation in 2018 extending obligatory reporting and auditing to private compa- nies. But implementation is still pending and has been further postponed due to the COV- ID-19 pandemic. Italy, which has obliged em- ployers to report on pay as part of a broader gender equality report since 1991, has recently sought to advance the matter. A new legislative proposal from 2016 calls for the introduction of explicit anti-pay discrimi- nation requirements for com- panies taking part in publicly funded work. A second proposal seeks to establish rules for pay transparency measures, but this has neither been discussed nor adopted. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt 6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 NOVEMBER 2020 NEWS Post of Tradesman Applications are invited for the posts of Tradesmen in the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects in the below trades: - Sprayer/Panel Beater - Plumbing - Mechanic - Mason - Carpentry - Plasterer and Painter - Welder and Fabricator - Tile Layer - Electrician Applicants must be in possession of the Journeyman's Certificate in the related trade after having successfully completed the relative course of study under the Extended Skills Training Scheme (ESTS) or a recognised, appropriate, comparable or higher qualification. Public Officers whose competence in the related trade has been certified by a Trade Testing Board set up under the Employment and Training Services Act or a relevant comparable programme in the field at MQF Level 2, can also apply. Applications must be submitted on the Recruitment Portal only at the following address https://recruitment.gov.mt. The closing date of applications is 17.15 hrs of Friday, 20 th November 2020. Further details may be obtained from the Government Gazette dated 6 th November 2020 or by sending an email on recruitment.mtip@gov.mt. People Management Directorate, Support Services Division, Block 'A', Francesco Buonamici Street, Floriana FRN 1700 Tel.: (+356) 2292 7864, e-mail: recruitment.mtip@gov.mt Post of Tradesman Applications are invited for the posts of Tradesmen in the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects in the below trades: - Sprayer/Panel Beater - Plumbing - Mechanic - Mason - Carpentry - Plasterer and Painter - Welder and Fabricator - Tile Layer - Electrician Applicants must be in possession of the Journeyman's Certificate in the related trade after having successfully completed the relative course of study under the Extended Skills Training Scheme (ESTS) or a recognised, appropriate, comparable or higher qualification. Public Officers whose competence in the related trade has been certified by a Trade Testing Board set up under the Employment and Training Services Act or a relevant comparable programme in the field at MQF Level 2, can also apply. Applications must be submitted on the Recruitment Portal only at the following address https://recruitment.gov.mt. The closing date of applications is 17.15 hrs of Friday, 20 th November 2020. Further details may be obtained from the Government Gazette dated 6 th November 2020 or by sending an email on recruitment.mtip@gov.mt. People Management Directorate, Support Services Division, Block 'A', Francesco Buonamici Street, Floriana FRN 1700 Tel.: (+356) 2292 7864, e-mail: recruitment.mtip@gov.mt Malta and 11 other EU states slow to tackle gender pay gap Malta laggard on pay: women earn 90c for each man's €1