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A two-tone society, with white men on top and women and ethnic minorities struggling to earn a crust underneath – can this really be the UK workplace in the 21st century? Nathalie Towner explains how UNISON is fighting to change this
All workers are created equal
The right for people to earn equal pay for the same work is no longer
disputed – but it is still not a reality.
Women and ethnic minorities constitute the majority of those affected
by unequal pay and this is despite their now crucial role in the labour
market. Between 1999 and 2009, ethnic minorities will account for half
the growth in the working age population whereas women already account
for 50% of all those who work.
The gender pay gap first gained prominence during the first world war when women were needed to carry out what were traditionally considered men’s jobs. It was not until 1955 however that the government introduced the principal of equal pay to the public services.
Private sector workers had to go on strike before the government introduced
the 1970 Equal Pay Act which made it unlawful for employers to discriminate
between men and women in terms of their contracts of employment.
Black and Asian immigrants were also left with minimal legal recourse for many years.
Many arrived in Britain from the early- to mid-1950s to take up employment
in industries experiencing recruitment difficulties but it was not until
the introduction of the Race Relations Act 1976 that they gained a level
of protection from certain kinds of discrimination in employment, education
and in the provision of goods and services.
These two crucial pieces of legislation have helped narrow the pay gap
but three decades on it is clear that they alone are not enough to eradicate
gender and racial pay discrimination in the workplace.
Data collected in 2000 showed that over the course of a woman’s
life the pay gap will cost her £250,000 and a further £140,000
if she has children. Overall women today earn on average 18% less than
men. For part-time workers the gap is even wider with the hourly pay of
women working part-time just 59% of the hourly earnings of men working
full-time.
Jenny Watson deputy chair for the Equal Opportunities Commission believes
employers need to have a better understanding of how they allocate pay
if they are to avoid discrimination.
“Employers should be looking at how they allocate performance-related
pay and whether they pay less for work of equal value – employers
tend not to think of
staff in different roles having an equal level of skills,” she explains.
Sex discrimination in pay now occurs because men and women tend to do
different jobs or have different working patterns. More than 60% of women
work in only 10 out of 77 recognised occupations. In all the areas where
UNISON organises, women are concentrated in low paid jobs and on low grades.
A look at the ethnic minorities is more complex as there are wide variations
in the labour market achievements of different ethnic minority groups
although again many are concentrated in low-paid jobs.
A government report Ethnic Minorities and the Labour Market released in March showed that while Indians and Chinese are, on average, doing well other groups such as Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Black Caribbeans experience significantly higher unemployment and lower earnings than whites.
In 1994 and 2000, Bangladeshi men were the most disadvantaged group,
their average weekly net earnings being between 45% and 52% below those
of their white counterparts.
Statistics vary greatly for the black population. While there are only
small differences in average pay and occupational achievement between
the Black African group and whites, the Black Caribbean group is significantly
worse off.
Roger McKenzie, race equality officer for the TUC believes that in many
ways
little has changed since the first immigrants arrived in the 1950s.
“It’s not just about discrimination. It’s about the jobs
that black people tend to do, they are invariably on the lowest grades
and are more likely to be in a job with less opportunity for advancement.”
But all ethnic minority groups, even those enjoying relative success,
are not doing as well as they should be when their education and other
achievements are taken into account.
Following the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry the Race Relations (Amendment)
Act 2000 was introduced outlawing discrimination on the grounds of race
in public life. It emphasises the responsibility of public bodies to tackle
institutional racism.
Mr McKenzie welcomes the amendment. “Progress will be slow but I’m
optimistic it will eventually have an impact,” he says. “However
there is no indication as yet that the private and voluntary sectors will
do the same. There should not be a two-speed economy on equality.”
With the introduction of the minimum wage in 1999 women were twice as
likely to be affected because of their concentration in low earning jobs;
part-time women workers made up half of all those affected by the national
minimum wage.
The recently introduced equal pay questionnaire is expected to help tackle
the secrecy surrounding pay and to facilitate equal pay claims.
UNISON is working with the TUC to train up equal pay representatives
with the necessary skills to work in partnership with employers to carry
out equal pay reviews.
Sorcha O’Neill, acting national woman’s officer for UNISON,
believes this is fundamental to overcoming the pay gap.
“Discrimination in pay systems accounts for between 25%-50% of the
pay gap so it is vital all employers carry out an equal pay review. This
should take into account part time status, race and disability as well
as gender. All branches should make sure they have an equal pay rep who
can identify where pay discrimination exists and work with employers to
eliminate it.”
UNISON will always try first to negotiate with the employer but legal
challenges are instigated where necessary. Important cases have been identified
and won but the fight for equal pay is far from over.
“Last year for the first time in 20 years the pay gap between men and women widened and we saw the pay gap between part time women and full time men at the same rate it was 25 years ago,” adds O’Neill. “Now more than ever we must keep equal pay at the very top of our bargaining agenda.”
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CASE STUDIES Woking The women are employed as a housing project officer, a housing
advisor, a senior housing advisor, The comparators are a repairs and improvements manager, a principal
planning officer, a services manager, a principal valuer, a planning
officer and various other men who work at Woking borough council
and earn more than the women. After a very lengthy hearing the outcome of this case is expected
within the next few weeks. Carlisle Equal pay applications have been lodged on behalf of more than
1,500 women workers who work in 15 different kinds of jobs in
this NHS Trust. Applicants include Grade A, C and D nurses as
well as domestics and catering staff. Male jobs such as maintenance
assistants, joiners and senior technicians as comparators. These cases were lodged in 1997 and the employers are continuing
to argue as many technical defences as possible to the women’s
claims. Currently the employers are trying to challenge the methodology
used by the panel of independent experts, which was appointed
by the tribunal. The cases have huge financial implications for the women concerned
given the historic differences in pay between men South Wales Police The case could have implications for many other women who work in administrative roles throughout the police civilian staff sector. |
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