Changing Times News * Number 93 * 17 March 2008
CONTENTS
Union news: TUC attacks 'motherhood penalty' * Documentary highlights equal pay landmarks * Public backs action on equal pay * Tax credits can tackle child poverty * Firm victimised union rep for caring * All parents need flexible working
Other news: Hutton 'must extend flexible working to all' * Tories flesh out family-friendly work plans * Childcare options 'limited' for working class * Firms are not learning long hours lesson * Thousands get St Andrew's Day holiday * News in brief
Resources: Budgeting guide for new parents * ATL work-life balance guide
International news: Australia: Equality would be good for economy * Europe: Equal opportunities still not reality * Global: Most working women in vulnerable jobs * Global round-up
UNION NEWS
TUC attacks 'motherhood penalty'
The gender pay gap more than trebles when women reach their 30s, according to a March report from TUC. 'Closing the gender pay gap' says that adult women in all age groups earn less than men of the same age. The sharpest increase in the gender pay gap occurs when women reach their 30s. The TUC report says the difference between men's and women's full-time earnings rises from 3.3 per cent for women aged 22-29 to 11.2 per cent for women aged 30-39. Several causes are cited, including the concentration of women in low-paid jobs such as childcare and cleaning, the undervaluing of women's skills and the employment penalty for mothers. This 'motherhood penalty' partly explains why the gender pay gap increases so rapidly for women in their 30s. The report also says that women are twice as likely to be poor as men. A lack of quality, well-paid work is cited as one of the main causes of women's poverty, as nearly half of all part-time jobs are low paid. With 7.5 million part-time workers, Britain has one of the highest proportions of this type of work in Europe - and more than threequarters are female. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'We all expect our wages to increase as our careers progress. But women's wages start to stagnate as early as their 30s and many are paying an unacceptable penalty simply for having children. Despite girls outperforming boys at school and at university, too many employers are still failing to make use of women's skills. This waste of talent isn't just hurting their take home pay, it's harming the UK economy too.' He added: 'When women earn poverty wages, the whole family suffers. If the government is serious about ending child poverty, it must raise family income by creating better paid, quality part-time work Britain's 7.5 million part-time workers.' Minister for women Harriet Harman said the government planned 'tough new measures' in an Equality Bill to be published later this year. 'I just don't believe women are less committed, less hard-working or less able than men,' she said. 'So they shouldn't be paid less.'
TUC news release. STUC news release. The Guardian and related feature. BBC News Online.
Closing the gender pay gap, full report.
Documentary highlights equal pay landmarks
A new TUC historical documentary, highlighting key equal pay victories throughout the 20th century, received a London premiere in February. The film, 'The Equal pay Story: Scenes From a Turbulent History' is directed by filmmaker Jenny Morgan and draws on archive footage tracing the struggle for equal pay from the 1880s to the present day. It includes filmed interviews with women and men who have made history in the long struggle for equal pay. The TUC has created the archive as a research and educational resource for journalists, schools, universities, industrial relations experts and social historians. TUC senior policy officer Jo Morris commented: 'Too often women's voices in their struggle for equal pay go unrecorded. These new resources give voice to the women who have made history through their landmark equal pay victories. But most importantly, these films remind us that unequal pay remains a reality for millions of women in the UK and that closing the pay gap between men and women is as important today as it has been over the last century.'
TUC news release and film on the TUC Winning Equal Pay website. Women in Technology.
A pack of resources 'TUC Equal Pay Archive: A film oral history', including DVDs of all the interviews, the archive documentary, background resources and archive images, can be ordered for £5 from TUC Publications on 020 7467 1294. Tapes for showing in cinema widescreens are also available, together with posters.
Public backs action on equal pay
Almost nine out of ten people (88 per cent) say it is the government's job to ensure men and women receive equal pay for doing the same work, according to a new survey. The ICM poll comes with the gender pay gap currently standing at 19 per cent in the civil service and 17 per cent in the rest of the economy. The poll, commissioned by civil service union PCS, also found that 94 per cent of people believe that men and women should be paid the same amount for doing the same job. The poll also found concern over pay inequality, with two-thirds (67 per cent) believing that women aren't always paid the same amount for doing the same job as men. The findings led the union to call on the government to take action including full civil service equal pay audits. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka commented: 'The government need to address the gender pay gap, especially in its own workforce where pay inequality is rife. It is a situation which is being made worse by low pay and its policy to drive down wages. If the government is to meet its responsibility to tackle the gender pay gap then it needs to start with its own workforce by ensuring departments conduct equal pay reviews and by setting aside the resources to tackle low pay and pay inequality.'
Tax credits can tackle child poverty
The TUC is calling on the government to invest an extra £4 billion in the Child Tax Credit, a move it says could help end child poverty. A TUC report, 'The tax credit success story', shows that tax credits are one of the most effective measures to fight poverty since Child Benefit - introduced more than 30 years ago - and that a further injection of £4 billion would help to ensure the government hits its poverty targets, including ending child poverty by 2020. The TUC analysis of Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit shows that they have already helped lift 600,000 children out of poverty, and that low paid workers with children are at least 25 per cent better off than they would have been otherwise. The TUC report reveals that tax credits have taken half a million low paid families out of income tax, and the number of families that are helped by the credits has trebled since 1997. In April 2007, 2.3 million families were receiving Child Tax Credit at more than the basic family rate - an extra 1.5 million families with children being helped. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Employment is still the best route out of poverty, but the government cannot ignore the shocking number of parents with jobs who are still in poverty. Only by investing an extra £4 billion a year in tax credits can the government meet its pledge to half child poverty by 2010.' Tax credits are designed to make work pay by raising workers' total income even when their jobs are low paid, and they are particularly helpful to families because they offer most support to workers with children. As they are part of the tax system, they are designed to help the poorest families by lifting them out of income tax.
TUC news release and report, The Tax Credit Success Story.
Firm victimised union rep for caring
A union rep who was dismissed after taking agreed time off to care for his dying wife has received compensation from a rail maintenance company. Unite member Glyne Greenidge has been paid a five figure sum by Preston-based NTS. He had worked for the company since 2003 and was a trade union convenor at the site. He says he believes he was persecuted by the company for undertaking trade union duties on behalf of Unite members at the company. Mr Greenidge took a case against NTS for unfair dismissal after the company sacked him when he took time off work to care for his dying wife. Managers had previously told him he could take as much time off work as he needed. With the support of Unite, Mr Greenidge started tribunal proceedings against NTS but the company agreed to settle on the day the case was due to be heard. Unite regional officer Dave Gorton commented: 'Unite believe that Glyne Greenidge was persecuted by the company because he assisted colleagues at the plant to stand up to management as a trade union steward. NTS tried to use Mr Greenidge's sad situation to their advantage. I hope this is a lesson for NTS and any other employer that feels they can bully and intimidate workers undertaking trade union duties on behalf of their colleagues.' Following the settlement, Mr Greenidge said: 'There was a strong anti-trade union culture among the management at NTS and I had been the victim of bullying and intimidation because of my work as a trade union convenor even before my wife's illness.' He was dismissed by the company in February 2007 and is still looking for work.
All parents need flexible working
Retail union Usdaw has told the government all workers need the right to work flexibly. 'The right to request flexible working has proved a huge success since it was introduced in 2003,' said Usdaw general secretary John Hannett. 'We believe there is a good business case for all parents to be able to access this important right.' Usdaw representatives and members travelled to London in early March to make the case to a government initiated review of flexible working for parents. John Hannett commented: 'Our members consistently tell us that working time is a major issue for them and they need help to balance their working lives with their home life. Being able to work flexibly is often the difference from being able to take a job or being stuck on benefits. He added: 'For the individual, access to work is the best route out of poverty. For business, offering flexible hours significantly increases the pool of talent they can recruit from and helps retain staff when their home circumstances change.' Usdaw estimates that at least 75 per cent of its members are parents or carers. John Hannett concluded: 'Extending the right to request flexible working to parents of children under 18 is good for workers and good for business. Our members made it clear at the consultation meeting that their needs as a parent do not end when a child reaches six. Needs change as your child goes through school and college and there are times when you have to be there for them.'
Usdaw news release and parents and carers campaign.
OTHER NEWS
Hutton 'must extend flexible working to all'
The government has been urged to extend flexible working rights to all parents and not cave in to the employer lobby. One work-life balance campaign group said ministers had listened too much to 'neanderthal elements' among employers after the business secretary, John Hutton, warned in a February speech that extending the right to ask to work flexibly risked losing the goodwill of business. Hutton appeared to pre-empt the findings of a government review examining ways to widen flexible working rights when he said its initial findings showed employers were more likely to refuse a request if they were faced with a 'barrage' of people wanting to work flexibly. They could then end up saying no to all such requests, he said. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'The business lobby has opposed the right to request flexible working at every stage, despite the fact that millions of parents and carers have benefited without any cost to employers. As the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has said, it would be easier for employers to manage a universal right to request instead of having to examine each case to see whether or not it comes within the increasingly complex definitions in the regulations.' He added: 'At the very least, the government should match the Conservative Party pledge to extend the right to request flexible working to all parents. But it should be more ambitious and extend it to all workers.' Sarah Jackson, chief executive of Working Families, said Hutton was 'giving voice to the neanderthal end of the employer lobby. This does not reflect our experience of what employers are saying.'
TUC news release. British Chambers of Commerce news release. The Guardian. Financial Times. Personnel Today.
Tories flesh out family-friendly work plans
The Conservative Party will provide more support for working mothers, and allow parents to take leave simultaneously, Theresa May, the shadow minister for women has announced. In a 14 March speech to the party's Spring Forum, she said parents will have between them up to 52 weeks of paid 'Flexible Parental Leave' (FPL). She added the first fourteen weeks would automatically apply to the mother and that it would be up to the parents how to use the remaining 38 weeks. The mother could take off the whole 52 weeks; the father could take over the FPL at any time during the final 38 weeks; or the mother and father could simultaneously take off up to 26 weeks each, as long as fathers only take one continuous period of leave. She added that parents who simultaneously take FPL would be eligible for double the rate of statutory maternity pay during the period of concurrent leave. Fathers who remain in work would still be entitled to their existing right of two weeks of paid paternity leave. She said: 'Our proposals would give parents more flexibility and choice, and would have a positive impact on pay equality, by giving women more help to return to the workplace after childbirth.' In his speech to the forum, David Cameron pledged to more than double the number of health visitors as part of a drive for family-friendly policies. The Tory leader also reiterated the plans for more flexible working and the extension of parental leave. He told the Conservative spring forum the cash for more health visitors would come from scrapping plans for more outreach workers for SureStart family centres, prompting minister for children Beverley Hughes to say SureStart was a 'vital frontline service' that deserves Tory support.
Conservative Party news releases on the Teresa May and David Cameron comments. David Cameron's speech in full. BBC News Online.
Childcare options 'limited' for working class
Lack of cash means public childcare provision is the only option for many working class parents who are in work, according to a new study. The researchers also found that working class women with jobs faced a conflict between their parenting and work roles. The research was carried out by the Centre for Critical Education Policy Studies at the Institute of Education. 'State day nurseries are overwhelmingly used by working class parents, but wealthier parents can choose from a diversity of childcare provision available in the private sector,' said lead researcher Dr Carol Vincent. 'This segregated provision raises concerns over affordability of care, as such a high percentage of care costs fall on the parent in the UK. We concluded that the working class families who took part really have very little choice in provider.' Dr Vincent added: 'We found the mothers in our research were often caught between two conflicting positions; being a 'good' mother, or being a 'good' worker. If they were in work, they had to balance having reduced time at home, with being an ideal mum.' The researchers said their study demonstrated clearly the tensions for working class mothers in trying to maintain both their commitments at work and to their families. They said policymakers should be encouraged that few experienced difficulties in accessing childcare, but should be concerned about the growing divide between the under-fives of 'have' and 'have-not' parents.
ESRC news release. Local Childcare Cultures: Working class families and pre-school child care.
Firms are not learning long hours lesson
The average British manager works the equivalent of 40 days a year in unpaid overtime, a survey has revealed. The Chartered Management Institute's (CMI) survey of 1,511 managers found 89 per cent regularly worked more than their contracted hours. The proportion is almost the same as eight years ago, according to the CMI report, published in February. CMI found the average manager worked one hour and 18 minutes over contract each day. The benefit to industry and commerce was 184 million extra days of unpaid effort, but the downside was lower morale, poor health and declining productivity. About 40 per cent said it reduced morale. On a personal level, 68 per cent said working over their contracted hours limited time for exercise and 48 per cent said it stopped them developing new skills. The institute said the survey showed that efforts to reduce working hours in recent years had failed. Jo Causon, CMI's marketing director, said: 'Many organisations focus on the cost of absence to their organisations, yet are not addressing the root causes of absenteeism. Two questions need to be answered: why are employers ignoring the impact of long hours on the health and performance of their employees, and what responsibility are employees taking for how they manage themselves? Most organisations are driven to use their assets, particularly their people, more intensively. Yet it is clearly having a negative effect and will create longer-term problems for organisations unless the UK's long-hours culture is kept in check.'
CMI news release. The Guardian. BBC News Online.
Thousands get St Andrew's Day holiday
Staff working for the Scottish government are to receive an additional holiday to mark St Andrew's Day, 30 November. Last year, MSPs backed plans to allow organisations to make St Andrew's Day a public holiday if they wanted to. Announcing the new holiday for government staff, culture minister Linda Fabiani said it was 'a fantastic opportunity to celebrate Scotland's proud national identity.' She added: 'We would now encourage other organisations to consider their arrangements.' After discussions with trades unions, the Scottish government agreed its staff should receive an additional day's holiday to mark St Andrew's Day. As it falls on a Sunday this year, in line with the 2006 Act, the holiday will be on Monday, December 1. This will allow staff to participate in the wide range of events which will be taking place to mark St Andrew's Day and the start of the winter festival. Almost 7,500 government staff will be given the holiday. The bill, creating a voluntary bank holiday on St Andrew's Day, was introduced by the former MSP, Dennis Canavan. It gives banks and other organisations the legal right to close on, or near, 30 November, but with no obligation to do so. Mr Canavan said he hoped other employers would follow the government's example. He added: 'I am optimistic that recognition of St Andrew's Day as a national holiday will grow year by year so that an increasing number of Scots will have the opportunity of celebrating our patron saint.'
Scottish government news release. St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Bill. BBC News Online.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Conservative women: Tory shadow minister for women Teresa May has said more must be done to secure real equality. Launching a Conservative Party report in February, 'Women in the World Today', she said: 'Women shouldn't be thought of as a single monolithic bloc but as 30 million individuals who should be given a real choice over their own lives,' adding: 'As well as legislation, deeper cultural change is needed to get the momentum going again on women's issues.' Fawcett Society news release. The Guardian.
Women's labour: Skills minister David Lammy has announced more support for recruitment and training to overcome the under-representation of women in five key sectors. The Women and Work Sector Pathways Initiative, which has helped set out new recruitment and career pathways for over 8,000 women since 2006, will receive a further £5 million a year for the next three years. Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills news release. Sector Skills Development Agency.
London lagging: Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has again urged the government to introduce tough new equality legislation following a report that found the capital's gender pay gap is higher than that of the UK as a whole. Speaking at the February launch of the fourth Women in London's Economy report, Livingstone warned that failure to do so will have a serious impact on London's future economic growth. Personnel Today.
Worried sick: John Hannett, general secretary of retail union Usdaw, has said: 'Our members told us in no uncertain terms that coping with a sick child can be stressful and exhausting.' The comments followed a survey by the union that found parents in Bury St Edmunds fear losing their jobs because of taking time off to care for sick children. Usdaw news release.
Backing thousands: UNISON lodged its 40,000th equal pay claim in March, as 300 women members found out the union has won payouts for them of up to £35,000 each. The compensation for Kirklees Council staff followed UNISON's successful equal pay case on their behalf, with settlements on average 50 per cent higher than the settlements achieved by no win, no fee lawyers. UNISON news release.
Capital drivers: London's 23,000 bus drivers are demanding a standard wage and driving hours across all the city's bus operators. Unite senior regional industrial organiser Peter Kavanagh said as well as seeking to close disparities in pay and conditions, the claim include a maximum of 4 hours and 30 minutes of continuous driving duty before a break, 7 hours and 36 minutes maximum time on duty per day, and a limit of 38 hours per week on duty. Unite news release.
Temporary success: Unions have welcomed strong parliamentary support for a backbench bill to give temps new rights at work. Labour MPs including heavyweights John Prescott and Peter Hain threw their support behind Andrew Miller's bill when it went before parliament on 22 February, voting by 147 to 11 to ensure it received a second reading - if successful, the bill would make it illegal for employers to discriminate against the UK's 1.4 million agency and temporary workers in terms of pay and basic working conditions. Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Bill 2007-08. TUC news release. UNISON news release. CWU news release.
Business sop: A government proposal for a commission on UK agency workers rights 'is a sop to the CBI,' GMB general secretary Paul Kenny has said. 'GMB will not go along with attempts to sabotage agency workers rights and it will not be party to kicking this issue into the long grass,' he said. GMB news release.
Exploitation revealed: Agency working is being used to undercut the terms of employment of permanent workers, the union Unite has warned. The alert came after a Unite member went 'undercover' to experience the plight of agency workers and found an insecure world of work where no national insurance was paid, contracts of work did not exist and no workplace training or basic safety equipment was provided. Unite news release. TUC news release. TUC agency workers briefing.
Offshore victory: Unite, RMT and OILC have hailed a 'fantastic' union-backed tribunal ruling giving about 10,000 offshore workers two weeks' paid holidays. The decision, affecting drillers, caterers and subsea workers, follows a long-running battle over offshore workers' rights under the Working Time Regulations. Rowley Ashworth Solicitors news release. Aberdeen Press and Journal. BBC News Online.
Flying victory: British Airways must base its pilots' holiday pay on average overall earnings and not just on basic pay, a tribunal has ruled. Commenting on the union backed case, Jim McAuslan, general secretary of pilots' union BALPA, said: 'This is a major victory for all pilots in the UK, not just the 2,800 BA pilots who submitted claims,' adding: 'Based on this judgment BALPA will be seeking to agree similar holiday pay arrangements for pilots in other UK airlines.' BALPA news release.
Six-grand larceny: Media professionals are giving away £5,884 a year in unpaid overtime, according to an analysis of official statistics by the TUC. It found that people working in the media, including journalists, public relations officers, photographers and broadcasters, are 50 per cent more likely to work unpaid overtime as the rest of the working population, making the industry one of the worst offenders when it comes to unpaid overtime. TUC news release and Work Your Proper Hours Day website. NUJ news release. The Guardian.
Gone missing: In what could be the largest mass absence from work for a generation, an estimated five million people will not be turning in to work on Thursday 15 May, according to Work Wise UK. National Work from Home Day, backed by the TUC, business groups, and major companies around the UK marks the start of Work Wise Week, running until Wednesday 21 May. National Work from Home Day. Work Wise Week.
Green day: In a leap year move, the National Trust gave all 4,800 staff and 49,000 volunteers the day off on 29 February to help to reduce their own carbon footprint. Under the Green Leap Day move, which has been welcomed by the TUC, National Trust staff are paid to spend the day getting involved in initiatives to tackle climate change. National Trust news release. The Times.
Work love: TUC is urging employers not to ban love from the office or the factory but instead to consult its online guide to relationships at work. With the long hours culture enjoying a renaissance, and unpaid overtime on the increase, it's no wonder that around a quarter of long-term relationships begin at work, says the TUC guide. TUC news release and WorkSmart guide to workplace romance.
RESOURCES
Budgeting guide for new parents
The Financial Services Authority is providing new mothers with a guide to sorting out their budget and working out their benefit and tax credit entitlements. The new guide, 'The Parents' Guide to Money', will be distributed by midwives to all pregnant women. The guide gives information on all the financial aspects of having a baby, including budgeting, tax credits and the Child Trust Fund. There is also an interactive CD which allows parents to input their financial details so they can work out a budget or how much they are eligible for in tax credits and child benefit. Guide sections cover: countdown to becoming a parent, budgeting, benefits, work, savings, borrowings and first years. The FSA comments: 'The Parents' Guide to money is designed to help new parents at an expensive and stressful time in their lives, giving them the tools they need to review and organise their finances.'
FSA guide and calculators.
ATL work-life balance guide
Teaching union ATL has published a comprehensive guide to work-life balance. It says the issue 'is essentially about choice and flexibility, balancing life and work, balancing the needs of both the school (employer) and members (employees) and the optimum environment for high performance and satisfaction at all levels.' ATL adds the 'special toolkit to help members achieve this balance.' The union says: 'The first step is recognising that work-life balance is an issue for both employers and employees. The second step is recognising that the solution will be different for everyone and that consultation is an essential part of the process.' It adds: 'Work-life balance policies need not be expensive options. Different solutions satisfy different circumstances and consultation should allow scope for imaginative and productive alliances to be secured in each school.'
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Australia: Equality would be good for economy
Stronger rights to help balance work and family responsibilities would enable thousands of Australian women to re-enter the workforce, Sharan Burrow, president of the national union federation ACTU, has said. 'At the moment we have a large number of women who would like to return to work but lack flexible working arrangements to accommodate their family commitments,' says Ms Burrow. 'Parents need an enforceable right to request flexible work and longer parental leave where children are school age or younger. This would bring Australia's work and family policies into line with top-performing OECD nations and help grow the economy.' Ms Burrow says the new Labour government should be commended for including the right to request part-time and flexible work for parents in its 10 proposed National Employment Standards (NES,) but said the government should ensure it also includes the ability for workers to appeal unwarranted employer refusals. 'Australia also needs an employment standard to guarantee paid maternity leave entitlements for Australian workers,' added Ms Burrow.
Europe: Equal opportunities still not reality
Efforts to ensure equal opportunities for women and men in Europe's labour markets will have limited success unless the support for formal care is increased, as women will no longer necessarily be available to assume the unpaid role of informal carer, the European Foundation has said. More women are working in paid employment and while men may work long working weeks in their paid jobs, Eurofound's research reveals that women work even longer weekly hours as a result of shouldering the greater part of domestic responsibilities in addition to paid employment. The Dublin-based agency says across Europe, four out of five women (80 per cent) do housework every day, as against 40 per cent of men. It says its research spans 'a number of issues and perspectives related to women in society and in work, ranging from work-life balance to quality of work, family matters, women and violence at work, gender and career development, equal opportunities between women and men, the gender pay gap and working time arrangements including parental leave.'
New webpage: Recent Eurofound women and equality publications.
Global: Most working women in vulnerable jobs
More women are working than ever before, but they are also more likely than men to get low productivity, low paid and vulnerable jobs, with no social protection, basic rights nor voice at work, according to a new report by the International Labour Office (ILO). 'Global employment trends for women' says that the number of employed women grew by almost 200 million over the last decade, to reach 1.2 billion in 2007 compared to 1.8 billion men. However, the number of unemployed women also grew from 70.2 to 81.6 million over the same period. 'Women continue to enter the world's workforce in great numbers. This progress must not obscure the glaring inequities that still exist in workplaces throughout the world,' said ILO director-general Juan Somavia. 'The workplace and the world of work are at the centre of global solutions to address gender equality and the advancement of women in society. By promoting decent work for women, we are empowering societies and advancing the cause of economic and social development for all.' ILO says its report shows that improvements in the status of women in labour markets throughout the world have not substantially narrowed gender gaps in the workplace. The share of women in vulnerable employment - either unpaid contributing family workers or own-account workers, rather than wage and salaried work - decreased from 56.1 to 51.7 per cent since 1997. However the burden of vulnerability is still greater for women than men, especially in the world's poorest regions. 'Access to labour markets and to decent employment is crucial to achieving gender equality', said Evy Messell, director of the ILO's Bureau for Gender Equality. 'Yet women have to overcome many discriminatory obstacles when seeking jobs. Societies cannot afford to ignore the potential of female labour in reducing poverty, and need to search for innovative ways of lowering economic, social and political barriers. Providing women an equal footing in the workplace is not just right, but smart.'
ILO news release. Global employment trends for women - March 2008, ILO, 2008 [pdf]. ILO Bureau for Gender Equality.
GLOBAL ROUND-UP
Audits urged: Women workers around the world are paid 16 per cent less than men, with more educated women facing an even bigger gap. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) said its research showed international competition due to globalisation was helping to narrow the gap but only because of downward pressure on men's wages, with ITUC president Sharan Burrow commenting: 'Despite decades of anti-discrimination legislation and changes in company rhetoric, the pay packets of women, whether they are in New York or Shanghai, are still significantly thinner than those of men.' ITUC news release and report [pdf]. TUC news release. IMF news release. NUJ news release. The Guardian.
Canada's gap: It just doesn't pay to be a working woman in Canada, according to a report from the Canadian Labour Congress. 'The bottom line is women are still not equal, not even close, when it comes to the bottom line,' said Barbara Byers, executive vice-president of the Canadian Labour Congress. CLC news release and report, Working Women: Still a Long Way from Equality.
Action needed: A European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) survey has shown women are still inadequately represented in union leadership positions, and the pay gap is an ongoing and major source of concern. ETUC says the aim of its survey is to assess progress in reducing the gender representation gap in trade unions and to highlight successful gender-mainstreaming activities within ETUC-affiliated organisations. ETUC news release and poster.
Gender smart: The World Bank says giving women better access to land, work, agriculture and financial markets will help raise their productivity and incomes, which will benefit their families and the economy as a whole. Its year-old Gender Action Plan aims to help unleash economic potential of women in developing countries and focuses on both making markets work for women and empowering women to compete in markets. World Bank news release, action plan and gender website.
Leave inquiry: Compulsory paid parental leave has returned to Australia's national agenda and will be considered by a Federal government Productivity Commission inquiry. The commission will report within a year on the economic and social costs and benefits of paid maternity, paternity and parental leave. Australian government news release. Productivity Commission Inquiry. The Age.
Frantic mums: A new Australian study has found mothers working full-time are vulnerable to psychological distress and poor health. Even women who have family friendly jobs may find full-time work and parenting comes at the expense of their health and sanity, the study in the Australian Bulletin of Labour concluded. News.com.au.
Workplace humanity: When it comes to open, flexible work options, the term 'family-friendly' could more accurately be labelled 'human-friendly,' says a posting to the MomsRising blog. 'As companies see firsthand how retention and productivity go up, collaboration and recruitment improve, customer loyalty increases, and health costs go down when businesses see workers - and help workers see each other - as individuals with complex interests and lives that don't disappear when they come to work, more human-friendly programmes are sure to follow,' its says. MomsRising.org.
Drowsy USA: Prolonged work days that often extend late into the night may cause Americans to fall asleep or feel sleepy at work, drive drowsy and lose interest in sex, according to a Sleep in America poll released by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Acting chief executive Darrel Drobnich said 'not getting good sleep is far reaching and has Americans compromising their productivity, safety, health and relationships - both on the job and at home.' National Sleep Foundation news release.
Truck ruck: A court in Brazil has ruled that companies should limit truckers' working day to eight hours. The preliminary injunction, which was imposed by prosecutors in Cuiaba in Mato Grasso, applies to transport companies across Brazil and came in response to evidence that trucks are involved in 70 per cent of accidents on Mato Grasso highway and that over half (51 per cent) of truckers passing through Mato Grosso use or have used drugs to stay awake, with almost half (46 per cent) working more than 16 hours a day. ITF news report.
Newsletter (6,100 words) issued 19 Mar 2008
