- Conference
- 2020 National Black Members' Conference
- Date
- 18 September 2019
- Decision
- Carried
Conference congratulates UNISON�s �Bridge the Gap� campaign and leading the call to eradicate the gender pay gap.
Conference welcomes the introduction of mandatory reporting introduced in 2018 that exposed the true extent of the gender pay gap; however, simple reporting of the issue is not enough. Legislation needs to be implemented that looks at the structural causes of inequality in pay between men and women.
Conference notes there is an additional injustice for Black women, those with disabilities and LGBT+. Black women earn 14% less on average and are more likely to be employed on zero hour, low hour and insecure contracts. Even when you control for factors like education, experience, location and occupation the pay gap still exists and actually widens for Black women with higher levels of education. The jobs women tend to dominate are often undervalued and entrenched in low pay, such as caring, leisure, service, sales and customer services, administrative and secretarial. Add to this the fact that 80% of Black mothers are the main breadwinners for their households.
Conference further notes that the Tory government thought this would address the inequality women experience in the workplace. Forcing companies to share their unfair pay practices in the hope that they�d be motivated through huge public outcry, a sense of embarrassment, or maybe even a desire to do the right thing. However, the gap is widening, showing how ineffective the new pay gap reporting rules have really been.
Conference acknowledges the government�s reporting regulations show what we already know and that is that women in the UK workforce are at a huge disadvantage. And whilst the regulations continue to have no power to enforce change things are unlikely to improve and more likely to regress.
UNISON is well-placed to champion change; to campaign and negotiate for improved policies and practices, both nationally and locally. Smashing the gender pay gap must be at the heart of all collective bargaining if progress is to be made.
Conference calls on the National Black Members Committee to:
1)Lobby for changes to legislation to force companies to report the work they are doing to eradicate the Gender Pay Gap
2)Lobby for changes to reporting to include figures relating to Black women
3)Continue to work with the National Executive Council to campaign to combat and smash the gender pay gap in which UNISON continues to be a significant voice
4)Bring together and review current research on the underlying reasons that contribute to pay gap especially in relation to the impact on Black Women
5)Work with service groups and the other self-organised groups to promote negotiating guidelines to support branches to negotiate local action plans to close the gender pay gap