Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1507380
are on privately-owned sta- tions such as NET, One and Smash TV. Sorry, but... wasn't the whole point of having a publicly-funded TV chan- nel, precisely that it would NOT be so heavily depend- ent on private advertising, for its revenue? And by that same reasoning: shouldn't TVM be interrupting its own transmissions far LESS frequently, than other, pri- vately-owned channels (to whom advertising repre- sents their only source of income)? Clearly, then, Public Broadcasting Services Ltd is already receiving insuf- ficient public funding, to fulfil even the most basic aspects of its public service remit (and, oh look: the European Parliament now wants us to slash its budget, even further.) There is, however, one as- pect of that remit where the national broadcaster DOES try to actually deliver. Clos- ing an eye at the (sometimes dubious) production value of some of its programmes... TVM nonetheless offers its viewers a far more diverse programming schedule, than any channel driven by financial interests, alone. Educational programmes for children; 'cultural her- itage' productions; quiz- zes; afternoon chat-shows; 'Reality TV'... you name it; there will be a slot for it, somewhere on the pro- gramming schedule. And yet: with the possible exception of quizzes, and (especially) Reality TV... not a single one of those TVM productions ever actual- ly 'makes any money', you know. On the contrary: the least financially lucrative of those programmes, are ar- guably the most expensive to produce: especially, the 'documentary-style' fea- tures about nature, cultural heritage, etc. (which appear to form the bulk of TVM's output, today). Ah, but how much of all that diversity would even remain, if TVM's program- ming schedule were sud- denly to be decided – not by publicly-funded board, re- sponding to public-service commitments – but by, for instance.... OK, hang on. I was about to say 'Elon Musk', there... but let's face it, that's not really very probable, is it? So how about the nearest local equivalent, instead? Some- one like Joseph Portelli, for instance (Hey, you never know: he already tried to buy his way into Hamrun Spartans, remember?); or – likelier still – Joe Baldacchi- no, owner of Smash TV. I can see it all now. Can't you? "Children's pro- grammes? Cultural doc- umentaries? How much money do those things even make, anyway? WHAT? None at all?? You mean to tell me that they're actual- ly... LOSING money, even as we speak??!! "Then... why the heck are we even still showing them, then? Just chuck them all in the bin! This isn't a charity, you know... this is a busi- ness! And from now on, we're going to RUN it like a business, damn it!" And we all already know – from the experience of watching Smash TV, once in a while – what that real- ly implies, for the future of broadcasting in Malta. Teleshopping. More Teleshopping. And after that... well, what do you know? MORE Teleshop- ping, again! (With maybe a few hours of Pastor Gordon Manche, to fill up the gaps in between...) Yes, indeed, folks! THAT, I fear, is the only realistic outcome, of the European Parliament's latest efforts to 'save Europe's free, in- dependent media, from the clutches of tyranny'. You just wait and see... VĚRA Jourová, Vice-President for Values and Transparency, said last December: "equal work of men and women deserves equal pay and transparency is key to make sure this becomes a reality. Today we are taking another step away from discrimination and one more step closer to equality." The gender pay gap is the differ- ence between the average gross hourly earnings of female and male employees, as a percentage of aver- age gross hourly earnings of male employees. Moreover, pay discrim- ination can even occur between same-sex workers. It is not limited to comparing people performing the same or similar tasks, but it also applies to those cases where men and women perform work that is different in content, involves dif- ferent responsibilities, requires dif- ferent skills or qualifications, and is performed under different con- ditions but is overall of equal value. While there have been many discussions about eliminating the gender pay gap and ensuring equal pay, progress has been slow. The gender pay gap results from vari- ous inequalities in the labour mar- ket, including gender segregation in employment and education, a lack of women in managerial posi- tions, a lack of adequate work-life balance, as well as pay discrimina- tion. The lack of transparency in wages is another important cause of the continuation of the gender pay gap on individual and structural levels, as it makes it more difficult for in- dividuals to detect and report pay discrimination cases. Workers with a definite contract are often bound with secrecy regarding their salary. In such a context, it is very difficult for an employee to become aware of discrimination in pay, particu- larly in additional perks which are mostly left to the discretion of the employer. In March 2021, the European Commission issued a proposal for a Directive on Pay Transparency, and this year, the Pay Transparen- cy Directive was officially adopted. This means that Member States have up to three years to transpose the new rules into national legisla- tion. The Directive aims at fighting pay discrimination and closing the gender pay gap in Europe, which remains at 12.7% on average in the EU in 2021 (Malta is at 10.5%). This means that women in the EU earn on average 12.7% less than men per hour. In Malta, the gender pay gap is most prominent in the real estate, financial and insurance sec- tors, at 25.6% and 24.1%, respec- tively. This is mostly attributed to the fact that men tend to be more present in these sectors, and more men hold decision-making posi- tions than women. In this context, transparency is being considered as a strong tool to address the gender pay gap re- quiring organisations to openly share information about their pay structures, policies, and practices. Transparent reporting can help identify and address inequalities thus supporting employers to take steps towards equal pay structures in line with national and EU legis- lation. The gender pay gap significantly affects women's lives in both the medium and long term. It increas- es their vulnerability to poverty and contributes to the current gender pension pay gap, which stood at around 26% in the EU in 2022, with Malta experiencing an even higher rate of 41.8% In order to highlight such dis- crepancies, access to information will be mandatory for employers under the new Pay Transparency Directive. They will be required to disclose the starting salary or pay range for advertised positions to job seekers, either in the job va- cancy or before the interview. Ad- ditionally, employers will not be allowed to inquire about a candi- date's pay history. Once hired, employees will have the right to request information from their employers regarding average pay levels for specific cat- egories of employees doing similar work or work of equal value. The criteria used for determining pay and career progression must be objective and gender neutral. Reporting obligations on the pay gap between female and male workers will come into force by 7 June 2027, when employers with 250 workers or more must start providing information annually, whilst employers with 150 to 249 workers must start reporting every three years. Moreover, employers with 100 to 149 workers shall ini- tiate the same three-year reporting cycle by 7 June 2031. These regu- lations ensure that reporting obli- gations adapt to the scale of each company, promoting transparency and compliance. If a company's report reveals a gender pay gap exceeding 5% which is not based on objective and gender-neutral factors, the compa- ny must take action by conducting a joint pay assessment in collabora- tion with workers' representatives. Under the new Directive, work- ers who experience gender pay discrimination will be entitled to compensation, including back pay, bonuses, or other related benefits they were denied. By promoting pay transparen- cy, the new rules aim to enable workers to detect and challenge potential gender-based discrimi- nation between men and women. The goal is to identify and address unconscious gender bias in pay systems and job grading that un- dervalues the work of women com- pared to men, even when such bias is unintentional. Currently, the NCPE is finalising the NCPE's Equal Pay Tool, which aims to assist organisa-tions to check equal pay for work of equal value between women and men. This Tool evalu-ates the overall relation between the value of work and pay within the organisation and de-termines whether gender is a contributing factor in determin- ing pay. Over the years, the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) has been ac-tive- ly working to address unequal pay and its consequences through var- ious means of communication in both traditional and social media. This Directive should bring about sub-stantial change to reach equal pay for all workers, be they women or men. The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) can be contacted on: 2276 8200, equal- ity@gov.mt or NCPE's social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter – NCPE Malta) maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 SEPTEMBER 2023 OPINION 11 Renee Laiviera Renee Laiviera is Equality Commissioner What is the new Pay Transparency Directive?