Received from: NUJ
Congress notes that the publication of the gender pay and bonuses of companies with more than 250 employees exposed the vast disparity between men’s and women’s pay; 91 per cent of media companies paid men more than women and gave them higher bonuses.
The publication of the BBC’s top earners in 2017 lifted the lid on pay inequity at the Corporation, resulting in over 180 cases taken by the NUJ, and sparking significant work on equal pay at our public service broadcaster and across the media industry to tackle the problem. It further notes that this is a societal problem – without proactive action, given the slow pace of change, it would take 40 years to reach pay parity between men and women.
Congress therefore calls on the General Council to press government to:
i. require companies with 50 staff or more to publish genderpay gaps and make all companies publish their plans to reduce the gap as part of the gender pay audit process
ii. fine companies that fail to address substantial pay gender gaps
iii. penalise companies that do not comply with the Equality Act 2010.
Congress calls on the General Council to help trade unions lead the way on pay parity, within our organisations and in work done for members including:
a. carrying out an audit of all TUC-affiliated unions and developing a programme to address the gaps
b. encouraging the use of equal pay surveys to ascertain the scale of the problem within workplaces across the UK
c. facilitating training for equality reps and equality training for officials.
National Union of Journalists