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Date: 19 November 2008

Embargo: For Immediate Release

Attention: Newsdesks, Education and Social Affairs Correspondents

date: 14 November 2008

embargo: For immediate release

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

Responding to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) today (Friday), which shows that in Wales the full-time gender pay gap has increased substantially to 12.7 per cent and the part-time gender pay gap to 33.7 per cent, Wales TUC General Secretary Martin Mansfield said:

'Today's shock increase in the gender pay gap 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 gap in Wales has increased from 10.3 per cent in 2007 to 12.7 per cent in 2008. The part-time gender pay gap has increased from 29.2 per cent to 33.7 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 Wales TUC press releases can be found at www.wtuc.org.uk

Contacts:

Media Enquiries: Christopher Hartwell t: 029 2034 7010 or e: chartwell@tuc.org.uk

Press release (400 words) issued 14 Nov 2008