In this issue
Voluntary sector protest
Devastation at Rescue 116 tragedy
Huge response to gender pay campaign
Minister reaffirms pay deal intent
Wider application of revised T&S sought
Early education branch to launch
Huge response to gender pay campaign
by Lughan Deane
 

IMPACT provoked a huge response, from across the political spectrum, to its ongoing social media campaign aimed at winning support for legislation compelling firms to publish details of their gender pay gap. The initiative focusses on the idea that women effectively work 71 minutes for free each working day when compared to their male counterparts. In other words, they are ‘clocked out by the pay gap’ at 15:50 each day.

Earlier this month, IMPACT called for cross-party support for a Labour Party Bill that aims to introduce gender pay gap reporting in Ireland. The union also welcomed a provision in the Bill that would require employers to disaggregate data on the age and part-time or full-time status of employees – a specific measure IMPACT had called for.

In February, IMPACT petitioned the Irish Government to introduce regulations requiring employers to disclose gender pay gap information after similar regulations were drafted in the UK, where they are set to come into effect in April. The British regulations will require large employers to publish details of the average hourly pay of women and men in their employment, and to calculate the gap between the two.

With Ireland’s national gender pay gap stubbornly stuck at 14%, IMPACT equality officer Ger O’Brien said Ireland would benefit from similar transparency. “The disclosure of data like this is key to addressing the gender pay gap. What gets measured gets done, and publishing this kind of information would represent a real and concrete action on the part of employers”.

The day after IMPACT sent its request to Government, Labour leader Brendan Howlin asked Taoiseach Enda Kenny in the Dáil to support IMPACT’s call for new law. The union is now asking all party leaders to support Labour’s Bill.

You can join the campaign by following @IMPACTTU on Twitter.

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