An end to pay secrecy
By Thea Pieridou
Press Officer at the European Parliament Office in Cyprus
The principle of equal pay is enshrined in Article 157 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union. However, the gender pay gap persists across the European Union at around 13%, with significant differences between Member States. In recent years it has decreased slightly. It is noted that the wage gap between men and women in Cyprus amounts to 9%. On March 30th, the European Parliament plenary approved new rules on pay transparency. Under the new rules, in order to ensure comparability of pay, both the criteria for the salary structure and the professional evaluation and ranking systems should be gender neutral. Job advertisements and job titles should not refer to a specific gender, and recruitment procedures should be conducted without discrimination.
It will be mandatory for companies in the EU to publish data to facilitate comparisons and reveal any gender pay gaps. In companies found to have a gender pay gap of more than 5%, employers will be required to review pay in collaboration with their employee representatives. Member States should introduce effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions, such as fines, for employers who break the rules. Working people who have suffered damages due to the violation of the rules will henceforth have the right to seek compensation. The new rules take into account for the first time the multiple discriminations that a working woman may face.
The rules state that working people and their representatives will have the right to receive clear and complete information about individual and average earnings by gender. Pay secrecy will also be banned: henceforth employment contracts will not be allowed to prevent workers from disclosing their salary level or seeking information about pay in their own or another job category. The Council will now have to formally approve the deal. The text will then be published in the Official Journal of the EU. The new rules will enter into force twenty days after their publication.
