date: 14 November 2008

embargo: For immediate release

Gender pay gap increase is an injustice for women and men, says TUC

Responding to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) today (Friday), which shows that the full-time gender pay gap has increased to 17.1 per cent and the part-time gender pay gap to 36.6 per cent, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:

'Today's shock increase in the gender pay gap shows makes the case for decisive action more pressing than ever.

'This is an injustice for both women and men. As redundancies mount, more women may find themselves as the sole or main income earner. It's more important than ever that they are not underpaid for what they do.

'The pay gap is even wider in the private sector at 21.7 per cent. And research shows that private sector companies are much less willing to check their pay systems to make sure they are paying women fairly.

'The link between fair pay and checking pay systems is clear. The case for mandatory pay audits is stronger than ever.'

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The full-time gender pay has increased from 17 per cent in 2007 to 17.1 per cent in 2008. The part-time gender pay gap is currently 36.6 per cent.

- The pay gap in the private sector is 21.7 per cent, compared to 13.8 per cent in the public sector, a difference of 7.9 percentage points.

- The TUC uses the mean average to calculate the gender pay gap, rather than the median, as it takes account of all employees, including those at the top and bottom of the pay scales.

- The ASHE figures are available from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website at www.statistics.gov.uk

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248 M: 07778 158175 E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717 531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Elly Brenchley T: 020 7467 1337 M: 07900 910624 E: ebrenchley@tuc.org.uk

Press release (400 words) issued 14 Nov 2008