Received from: GMB
Congress believes that women’s work is undervalued, and that we must be bold in equal pay campaigning. The undervaluing of women’s work is historic, structural, and it will be enduring if we do not act.
Low pay is an intersectional issue and it persists in roles women predominantly occupy because women are themselves undervalued.
Congress recognises that:
i. progress in eliminating the gender pay gap is slow, and the full-time pay gap rose in 2021 (from 7 per cent to 7.9 per cent)
ii. women still earn 41 per cent less on average over a lifetime, according to the latest estimate
iii. allowing cross-employer comparators would be an important step towards resolving more claims for equal pay for work of equal value.
Congress expresses its support for the GMB Birmingham City Council equal pay campaign that is seeking to rectify the historic and structural failure to pay women what they are worth. Congress notes that the council is trying to supress meaningful negotiations through legal tactics, further delaying paying what they owe.
Congress further notes that New Zealand’s Equal Pay Amendment Act lays out new factors to determine current or historical equal pay values, including whether women have had a lack of effective bargaining or representation.
Congress therefore commits to:
a. instructing the General Council to research the practicalities of how the New Zealand Equal Pay Amendment Act could be applied to the UK
b. supporting affiliates’ equal pay campaigns and GMB’s Fight for Fifteen in the Care Sector.
GMB