Women and Work Commission - TUC Submission

TUC Submission

• Introduction
• Overarching Issues
• Promoting Gender Equality Through Public Procurement
• The Case for Promoting Gender Equality
• The Nord Pas de Palais Case
• Labour Market
• Occupational segregation in printing
• Printing pay gap, 2002
• Education, careers guidance and skills
• Occupational Segregation
• Organisational Practice
• Understanding Equal Value: the Impact of the Equal Pay Act 1970
• The question of value
• Institutional pay discrimination -UK pay structures
• Part-time working
• Grading reviews and the public sector
• Flexible Working
• Proposed Framework for Union Equality Reps
• Training
• Employment Protection Rights
• Summary of Recommendations

Introduction

1. The TUC welcomed the decision of the Government to establish the Women and Work Commission and the invitation to submit proposals to it. The TUC represents more than 71 unions with a total of over 6.7 million members. Approximately 39% of members of affiliated unions are women. The TUC affiliates range greatly in size and cover a wide variety of industries and occupations.

2. The TUC has supported the principle of equal pay between men and women since 1888, when the TUC Congress unanimously passed a resolution to that effect. The trade union movement was one of the key players in ensuring that the Equal Pay Act was introduced. Since 1976, TUC affiliates have played an important role in providing access to justice for women, by supporting most of the landmark equal pay cases. The current gap between female and male earnings remains stubborn, with female full-time average hourly earnings 19.5% lower than equivalent male earnings; and female part-time average hourly earnings 40% lower than equivalent male full-time earnings. The inequity continues into retirement, as the gender gap in pensioner income is currently 41%, with 50% of women pensioners receiving less than 3103 per week. [1]

3. The causes of the gender pay gap have been well documented, particularly since the Labour Government took office in 1997. Analysis of the gender pay gap has found that propensity to work part-time, interruptions in work due to family responsibilities, lower educational attainment and a highly gender-segregated labour market alongside discrimination in pay systems and more general discrimination associated with being female all have a negative impact on women’s wages. [2] The TUC believes that while the causes of the gender pay gap are complex, it would not be impossible to close the gap further and eliminate it in the long term. This could be brought about through a mixture of legislation and sustained cultural and structural change.

4. The submission responds to the questions set out by the Women and Work Commission. The TUC’s recommendations are summarised on page 64.

Overarching Issues

Q1. How should the Government monitor the pay and opportunity gap between women and men and how should it monitor the resulting losses to productivity?

5. The Government should monitor the pay gap between women and men using the statistics currently gathered by the Office of National Statistics, the Labour Force Survey and the Annual Survey of Household Earnings. This will enable the Government to develop a picture of the rate at which the pay gap is growing or decreasing. The TUC would further recommend that the Government should set challenging but achievable targets for closing the gender pay gap, based on the growing body of evidence on what is causing it.

6. In line with the Equal Opportunities Commission’s recommendations following Phase One of their current General Formal Investigation (GFI) into gender segregation and Modern Apprenticeships, [3] the TUC also believes that more radical action needs to be taken to close the current ‘opportunity gap’ between women and men. Both the Department for Education and Skills and the Learning and Skills Council offer gender-disaggregated statistics for those participating in academic and vocational qualifications such as GCSEs, academic and vocational A Levels and Modern Apprenticeships.

7. This information should be used effectively by all of the agencies involved in delivering on the education and skills agenda to tackle occupational segregation in particular. In addition, the Learning and Skills Council should provide clearer information on the numbers of males and females who are starting and completing Modern Apprenticeships, the pay that they receive during the apprenticeship period, and where possible, if they go on to paid work as a result of their apprenticeship. By using this information effectively, the Government would be able to measure the extent to which males and females were clustering in particular sectors.

8. In turn, it could help to establish targets and equality ‘benchmarks’ or indicators to tackle occupational segregation as recommended by the Equal Opportunities Commission in their recent GFI mentioned above. The TUC strongly believes that this action is necessary because it is clear that, on current trends, males and females are not fulfilling their potential according to their skills, but rather according to the expectations of their gender. This perpetual segregation is creating opportunity gaps for both men and women that have ramifications throughout their working lives and into retirement. In the TUC’s view, pay is a useful proxy for measuring productivity, as is currently the norm in the public sector. HM Treasury recognises that productivity is the largest component of economic growth, [4] and a central aim of Government policy is 'to deliver sustainable improvements in the economic performance in every region, and to reduce the gender pay gap in growth rates between the poorest and the richest nations.' [5]

9. However, it is the TUC’s view that there is currently no adequate method for measuring productivity that is lost as a result of women and men working in occupations and grades that are below their skills level. This is particularly acute for women returning to work after childcare/birth keen to work reduced or part time hours and having to change employer or occupation as a consequence. This is frequently the scenario for women in this situation and often they will find themselves entering employment that is below their skill capacity as a result. The TUC further believes that the current gap between female and male average earnings is a sign of productivity loss and that the scale and persistence of the gender pay gap are an indication of serious labour market failings that cannot be solved by the labour market alone.

10. It is important that Government economic indicators reflect both the gendered productivity gap and the relative high proportion of women working part-time in the UK. Labour is the most important economic input, and can be measured either per worker or per hour worked - the choice of measurement clearly has gender implications. The report of the EU’s review of the Lisbon Strategy, chaired by Wim Kok [6] , argues that the EU is growing less quickly than the US, and is suffering from lower productivity growth. Key determinants have been lower investment per employee and a slowdown in the rate of technological progress.

11. Boosting both employment and productivity growth are key elements of the revised strategy, but its preferred measure is productivity per worker. By contrast, recent OECD data suggests that this measure is relatively disadvantageous to the UK compared with output per hour. As Walby and Olsen suggest, if part-time working is to be considered as normal as full time, then the preferred unit of measurement is likely to be based on per-hour performance - a view strongly endorsed by the TUC and its affiliates.

12. The causes of the gender pay gap have been well documented, particularly since the Labour Government came to power in 1997. However, a recent study commissioned by the Women and Equality Unit [7] investigated the link between women’s unequal pay as a result of their position in the labour market and the implications that this has for the UK’s productivity. This comprehensive report suggests that two of the main causes of the gender pay and productivity differences are due to skills deficits and certain labour market failures - most notably occupational segregation and downward mobility.

13. Women, on average, have fewer formal education qualifications than men: this is particularly true for women aged 40 and over, and among those women working part time, or not in paid employment. Indeed there is evidence that the 'skill level of women part-time workers has not increased as much as that of male and female full-time workers, resulting in a growing gap between full-time and part time workers'. [8] But there are clear constraints on part-time workers’ ability to improve their skills. Evidence shows that two-thirds of both women working part time and those not working at all would consider undergoing additional training, but that financial constraints are the biggest barrier for them. [9] .

14. This is a view supported by the USDAW - the Union for Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers. 59% of USDAW’s members are women, many of whom are concentrated in low paid retail jobs working part time hours. USDAW has found that their women members cannot afford to undertake the type of training, which will gain them qualifications necessary to progress in their careers. Currently government funding is only available for those undertaking training up to NVQ Level 2, but USDAW have found that there is no earnings increase associated with a qualification up to this level. As it costs an individual to undertake training higher than NVQ Level 2, many of USDAW’s members are unable to afford this. Furthermore, USDAW have also found that outside of their working hours women find it difficult to take up learning opportunities because they are juggling work with caring commitments.

15. It is the TUC’s view that this is representative of women’s experiences more widely, and that the Government must explore ways of working with employers and trade unions to ensure that women - especially those clustered in low paid jobs with little opportunity for improving their skills - are supported (through finance and time) in their efforts to gain qualifications at NVQ Level 3 and above, or equivalent. This in turn would enable women to move out of the low paid work where they can get stuck, and into higher paid occupations.

16. The UK has one of the most highly gender segregated labour markets in the European Union, with women concentrated in work that is low paid and often only available for part time hours. The highly segregated nature of the UK’s labour market is due in part to the fact that occupations are divided into those that can only be done by full-time workers, and those that are better done by part-time workers. In their report for the Women and Equality Unit, Professor Sylvia Walby and Dr Wendy Olsen suggest that this gender segregation is a form of labour market failure and that these 'occur when the labour market does not allocate the most appropriate worker to any given job slot as a result of labour market rigidities.' [10]

17. This rigidity means that if someone chooses to change their hours from full to part time, then they will often have to change occupations altogether. Both men and women working part-time hours are subject to a pay penalty - but as significantly more women than men work part time, women will bear the brunt of this. Recent academic evidence has shown that 'women working part-time in the other EU countries have similar problems to the UK but the UK has the highest part-time pay penalty and one of the worst problems in enabling women to move between full-time and part-time work without occupational demotions.' [11]

18. The TUC is concerned by this segregation primarily because it shows that women and men are not undertaking work best suited to their skills and abilities, but rather to their gender, and that this is particularly true for those working part time. The TUC has found that this view is reinforced among its affiliates. USDAW has found that many of its female members work in retail because it suits their caring responsibilities rather than their skills, interest or qualifications: many of these women are in fact over-qualified for the jobs they do.

19. A case that has been identified by the civil service trade union Prospect is of a woman who worked in a relatively high grade in the civil service and was keen on working part time on her return from maternity leave. She did find a position, but said that there were very few jobs at her grade or above that are considered suitable for those wishing to work part time. She found that there was discussion of job sharing opportunities, but no consideration of how this could work in practice. She felt that the only real prospect of gaining a promotion was to either change jobs altogether or return to full-time hours.

20. A significant number of women suffer ‘downward mobility’ (i.e working below their previously achieved skill level) between their best job before they have children and their current job. Walby and Olsen argue that downward mobility 'represents a waste in productive capacity for [the women) themselves, their employers and the economy as a whole.' [12] This is exacerbated by the concentration of part time and full time work being available in different occupations, which will often mean that women who want to reduce their hours after having a baby will have to shift occupation to accommodate this.

21. In their research, Walby and Olsen found that there is startling skills wastage among certain women workers. For example, in their research, they found that over half of skilled manual workers and almost half of managers experienced adverse occupational mobility - for skilled workers, loss of job status is also possibly also linked to a decline in manufacturing employment. In contrast, women in ‘professional’ occupations, and those classed as ‘other unskilled’ are the least likely to experience any downward mobility. [13] Having said that, the research also found that part time work is heavily skewed towards the low paid end of the labour market for both women and men and that there were far fewer professional or managerial posts available part-time than in less skilled occupations. [14]

22. This was reinforced by a case represented by USDAW where a woman who worked as a deputy store manager in retail asked if she could work part-time after the birth of her child. The company refused this request and offered her instead a lower grade supervisors position, arguing that managers in retail had to work full-time hours and offer total flexibility about the hours that they worked. The union found a sympathetic Human Resources manager who was keen to encourage women into management and senior management positions in recognition of the recruitment and retention benefits that it would bring, and recognised that this meant that the company had to revise its view of roles that could be undertaken by those working full time, and those working part-time. As a result of the union’s efforts and the work of the HR manager it is now the national policy of this company to allow women to work part-time as store managers.

23. The UK has the second highest rate of women’s part-time employment in the EU-15 (UK: 28.3%; EU-15: 18.8%). [15] According to Walby and Olsen, part-time employment is apparently 'the location where many of the factors that depress women’s pay and productivity are clustered. Part-time workers are engaged in the most segregated occupations, are among the least educated, would benefit most from training, and have the shortest employment histories.' [16]

24. It is hard to escape the conclusion from such evidence that UK productivity may be increased if the human capital deficit and labour market failures associated with gender were to be addressed with specific interventions. The TUC believes that one such intervention must be both a strengthening of the current law governing the right to request flexible working for parents of children aged 5 and under; but also an expansion of that right to request to all employees. It is only by making flexible working, and thus part time working, more normal across occupations, sectors and industries will we begin to lift the penalties against those who currently work part-time. In a recent study of the pay penalty experienced by those who work part time, the authors argued that 'the most effective way to reduce the part time pay penalty would be to strengthen the ability for women to move between full-time and part-time work without losing their current job.' [17]

25. While occupational segregation is a major factor causing the gap between female and male earnings, a recent General Formal Investigation (GFI) by the EOC [18] revealed that such segregation also: exacerbates skills shortages in key sectors such as construction, engineering and childcare; ensures that women’s skills are often poorly matched to the work they do; and discourages women from either working at all, or at least working to their full potential.

26. In the EOC’s GFI, average earnings in the male dominated sectors of construction, plumbing and engineering were very significantly higher than in the female-dominated childcare sector. And Modern Apprenticeships schemes that channel labour to these sectors are helping to reinforce this gender segregation, despite the fact that the GFI found that there were skills shortages and vacancies in all five sectors.

27. In the UK, the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) play a central role in the Government’s economic strategy. Yet the EOC GFI referred to above suggests that RDAs have yet to take up the issue of occupational segregation. RDAs are non-department public bodies in England that have 'a primary role as strategic drivers of regional economic development'. They aim to co-ordinate regional economic development and regeneration, improve their relative competitiveness and reduce the imbalance that exists within and between regions.

28. Part of their remit is to draw up regional skills ‘action plans’ to ensure that skills training matches the needs of the labour market. These action plans must include workforce development to address local skill shortages. For many of the regions, local skills deficits are found in the five sectors highlighted by the EOC in their GFI. The majority of RDAs identify ITC skills as an issue and several focus on the need to raise the general skills (and qualifications) level of its workforce. It would therefore appear that RDAs would have an interest in - and could play a crucial role in - addressing occupational segregation as a strategy to address local skill shortages.

29. Despite this, at the time of the research, only four of the eight RDAs appeared to have specific plans to address skills deficits by targeting women. London and the South West RDAs had both funded development projects aimed at increasing the numbers of women going into construction. The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) has a specific policy field that identifies the need to improve the participation of women in the labour market. Its priorities include the need to address occupational segregation, reduce gender stereotyping and inequality and overcome barriers to entry and progression for women. SEEDA was also helping to fund the Computer Clubs for Girls initiative. Forward North West (the RDA for the North West region) has been involved in a series of projects. Overall, just three of the RDAs made explicit reference to gender within their action plans.

30. It is the TUC’s view that Regional Development Agencies should be addressing occupational segregation within their region, using the data that is already available and developing their own as necessary. As part of the ‘action plans’, RDAs should establish targets - with equality indicators or benchmarks attached - in order to overcome skills shortages and address occupational segregation.

Promoting Gender Equality Through Public Procurement

31. Last year, the European Union adopted two Directives revising EU rules on how public money is spent. These are a general, Public Sector Directive (2004/18/EC), covering public supplies, works and services, and a Utilities Directive (2004/17/EC), covering energy, water, transport and postal services.

32. Throughout the legislative process in Brussels, European trade unions and NGOs campaigned to strengthen the scope for considering social, employment, and disability, ethical and environmental issues throughout the public contracting procedure.

33. This campaigning achieved significant success in the revised rules relating to procurement. However, the UK Government has adopted a minimalist approach, seeing the Directives as clarifying existing laws, rather than introducing new ones.

34. The TUC, as well as affiliates including GMB and UNISON, made written submissions in response to a consultation exercise on how the Directives would be transposed into UK law. We argued for the new Directives to be implemented fully, complete with new rights for including social, employment and other provisions as part of the public contracting process. Subsequent submissions have been made in response to the Office of Government Commerce Sustainable Procurement Group’s Joint Note on Social Purchasing, by the TUC and GMB.

The Case for Promoting Gender Equality

35. Equal opportunities go to the heart of the European Union itself. Article 3 of the EC Treaty stipulates that: ‘In all the activities […] the Community [the EU] shall aim to eliminate inequalities, and to promote equality, between men and women’. Under EU law, women must be given the same access to employment, training and career development as men. In spite of this, gender segregation remains a problem and the UK has one of the largest gender pay gaps in Europe.

36. In its submission to the consultation process last year, the Equal Opportunities Commission listed a number of reasons for using procurement mechanisms to promote sex equality and equal pay. These included:

• The beneficiaries of public money should be complying with the law on sex discrimination and equal pay;

• Due to the value of government contracts and the number of people delivering them, using procurement should have a real impact on the Government’s Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets around gender equality, including the pay gap;

• By using procurement mechanisms to promote gender equality, the Government will be sending a clear message regarding its own commitment to equal pay;

• Contract compliance can serve as an effective tool to combat structural disadvantages which traditional anti-discrimination law has not affected.

37. The TUC is disappointed that the Government has viewed the two new Directives as simply clarifications. We wish to see greater consideration of social issues and, in the light of the arguments set out above, believe that an opportunity exists to promote gender equality. The issue of gender equality is not even mentioned in the latest Government consultation document. Reference is made to race and disability, but gender - as well as age and sexual orientation - is not considered.

38. The Glossary to the latest consultation document - the OGC Sustainable Procurement Group Joint Note on Social Issues in Purchasing - states:

39. 'The Race Relations Act 1976 (as amended by the RR(A)A 2000) imposes a specific duty on the public sector to promote race equality. This duty does not apply to the private sector. However, where a contracting authority is contracting out a public service which it has the responsibility to provide, certain public sector obligations can be passed legitimately on to the contractor.'

40. The TUC seeks clarifications of exactly what the Government believes those obligations to be.

41. The Joint Note also states:

42. 'As a general rule, national laws should not be highlighted in the contract conditions … The exception is the law covering equality, where there has been political agreement that this should be mentioned as standard. The Race Relations Act was updated in 2000 and OGC’s model terms and conditions will include a model contract condition to deal with this and other equality laws.'

43. The model contract should specifically mention gender equality, along with race, age, disability and sexual orientation.

44. The Public Sector Directive includes Recital 33. This states:

45. "Contract performance conditions are compatible with this Directive provided that they are not directly or indirectly discriminatory and are indicated in the contract notice or in the contract documents. They may, in particular, be intended to favour on-site vocational training, the employment of people experiencing particular difficulty in achieving integration, the fight against unemployment or the protection of the environment…'

46. Given the level of occupational segregation that currently exists in the UK, this recital would support the right of contracting authorities to consider equal opportunities policies regarding gender when seeking a supplier.

47. Furthermore, Recital 46 states that contracting authorities may use criteria aimed at meeting social requirements in response to the needs of particularly disadvantaged groups of people to which those receiving/using the works, supplies or services, which are the object of the contract belong.

The Nord Pas de Palais Case

48. Case law also supports the use of social clauses. The Joint Note says: "For example, an award criterion based on the percentage of local people employed would clearly be discriminatory and go against EC Treaty principles." We disagree. In the judgement of the Nord Pas de Calais case (Commission v France, case C-225/98), the court stated that the use of an award criteria relating to the fight against unemployment is legitimate as long as it is expressly mentioned in the tender documents. The court decided that action to reduce long term unemployment was a legitimate social aim in this respect because any company bidding for the contract, from France or elsewhere, could implement plans to meet this aim. The award criteria did not, therefore, discriminate against non-French bidders.

49. There is no reason why the same principle should not apply to gender equality. This would be a legitimate social aim, as long as it is mentioned in the tender documents, since it does not discriminate against bidders from overseas.

50. Finally, in an opinion that predates the new Directives, James Goudie described in 2001 how a fair employment clause would be legal. Goudie stated:

51. 'Therefore, as long as the requirement that a contractor agrees to a fair employment clause is not discriminatory, it will not be contrary to European procurement law for a UK public authority to insist that such a clause forms part of procurement contracts.'

52. Goudie goes on to state:

53. 'I do not consider that the GLA (to whom the legal opinion was given) would be acting unlawfully if it gave some weight, at the tender evaluation stage, to a contractor’s attitude to fair employment clauses. Quite how much weight can be placed upon this factor will depend upon the extra cost, if any, which flows from contracting with a contractor who is willing to agree to a fair employment clause.'

54. In the case of gender equality, the cost of checking that working equal opportunities policies are in place among potential suppliers would be minimal, to both contractor and supplier.

55. In conclusion, the TUC believes that both the new Directives and relevant case law support our view that it is legal for contracting authorities to take account of social considerations when awarding contracts. Given the EU Treaty commitment to promote equality between men and women, we believe that gender equality should be one such social consideration and we urge that this is enacted in the legislation transposing the new Directives into UK law.

Labour Market

Q2-5 What are the barriers that prevent women who are not working, working part-time or are underemployed from working in jobs that make full use of their existing skills? What barriers prevent women from retraining? What good practice exists which supports women into jobs that make best use of their potential? What other solutions might support women into jobs which make best use of their potential?

56. Based on both academic evidence and information from affiliated unions, it is the TUC’s view that there are a number of barriers to women accessing jobs that make full use of their existing skills. These include a limited number of jobs that are available to work part-time hours; a reluctance of employers to allow people to work flexibly, (this is particularly a problem if they have personal commitments but do not have the right to ask to work flexibly). Evidence provided to the TUC by the Graphical, Media and Paper section of AMICUS illustrates some of the problems that women face in the labour market today.

57. In this male-dominated sector, occupational segregation and unequal pay are fairly intensive, with evidence of skills shortages but also a paucity of training provision, both on and off the job. In key occupations such as printing only 4% of employees are women. In senior positions, such as information and communication managers, just one in five employees are female.

Occupational segregation in printing

80. Source: Labour Force Survey, Spring 2004

81. This pattern of occupational segregation is reflected in the pay gap, with male hourly and weekly rates significantly higher than for females. Female manual workers in publishing and printing earn just two-thirds of male counterparts. The overall patterns of earnings is sharply worse than the overall pay gap of 18% across the economy.

Printing pay gap, 2002

Source: New Earnings Survey, 2002.

82. The Graphical, Paper and Media Sector of Amicus was not able to identify examples of good employer practice in tackling unequal pay, training or occupational segregation to commend to the Commission. The union suggests that, in the print sector, achieving equal pay requires a systematic approach to tackling all the factors that lead to unequal pay, including: recruitment, promotion and training practices, working patterns (especially strengthening and extending the right to request flexible working), childcare and maternity rights, equal pay audits. Furthermore, establishing trained equality reps with full rights to undertake their duties (similar to those accorded to health and safety reps) would help stimulate workplace action to address unequal pay.

83. While it will take more than equal pay audits to achieve equal pay, the union describes them as an essential tool for identifying and addressing pay anomalies. However, there is no evidence of any companies undertaking a systematic pay review or seriously addressing pay anomalies. Instead there is widespread complacency with employers assuming there is not a problem.

84. A key issue for the union is employers’ reluctance to train coupled with the lack of off-the-job training. Apparently, many of the printing departments in FE colleges have closed so access to training is constrained. The union’s own survey evidence suggests that there is little training provision. What is provided is initial training for a job; this in on-the-job and of short duration, and it also tends to reinforce job segregation. In addition, there are long-term skills shortages in the industry, yet there is still a lack of willingness to change. The union has argued for a sector-based statutory training levy. 'With too few skilled workers it simply allows men to bid up their wages in a poaching war, thereby exacerbating the pay gap', the union argues.

85. With the apparently low labour turnover in many printing companies, there is evidence of use of word of mouth recruitment, seen by some employers as an easier and cheaper option. Few women work part-time; it is still generally a full-time hours industry, at least for permanent workers. Flexibility comes from the use of agency workers not part-time hours.

86. The Commission is interested in ‘pioneers’ i.e. women who have got into non-traditional jobs. The problem is that where women have become printers they have often been forced out as they are in isolation. In addition, the union has experience of women pioneers being used to reduce rates of pay, for example, when the introduction of new technology led to job losses among highly-paid, skilled compositors, with jobs moving towards keyboarding skills rather than the production of lead type. Women with keyboard skills were paid up to £100 less a week than compositors; employers paid good redundancy terms to the men to leave. Rates in the new jobs remain low, even though the work is still skilled.

87. The above case study outlines several of the barriers that women face in trying to work in sections of the labour market that have been traditionally dominated by a male workforce. The following case study from USDAW suggests a useful way that trade unions and private sector employers can work together to address issues around skills and career progression.

88. USDAW is working with employers and women members to tackle the sticky floor and the glass ceiling. In their experience women get stuck on the shop floor for 4 main reasons.

i. Grading structures on industries such as retail are often very flat and there are few internal promotion opportunities. The vast majority of women work at the same level and there is only room for a very small number of people to work above this level.

ii. The kinds of jobs women do in retail and elsewhere are often low skill jobs that by their very nature don’t attract much training. There is very little scope for developing the jobs women do.

iii. Outside of work women find it difficult to take up learning opportunities because they are juggling work with caring commitments.

iv. There are major issues of affordability. Women cannot afford to take up learning opportunities. It costs to get the type of qualifications that will help women progress their careers. Research shows that there is no real financial return where people study below level 2 - there is only a financial dividend in terms of higher earning potential beyond this and yet funding is currently only available up to level 2.

89. USDAW is working with employers to use lifelong learning to help women develop their careers and potential. They firmly believe that the workplace learning agenda should be developed in the broadest possible sense so that it is not just about the skills women need to do their jobs but also addresses career and personal development. If workplace learning just focuses on the skills women need to do their jobs it will fail to tackle the problem of the sticky floor for the reasons outlined above.

90. USDAW’s lifelong learning strategy is being delivered through a network of learner reps, who act as trusted intermediaries in the workplace and encourage women to take up learning opportunities. They have a number of lifelong learning partnership agreements with employers. The facilities offered by employers will vary according to the circumstances but might include all or the some of the following -

• On site learning centres

• Full time union learning co-ordinators who promote learning

• Learning agreements giving staff paid time off to do basic skills training

91. The following are two examples of the ways in which our learning agreements have helped women develop their careers:

• A sales assistant in the retail company Ethel Austin did an introducing IT course at a college near to her place of work. The course developed her confidence and self esteem and she has since become a store manager with the company.

• A sales assistant in another retail company did an introducing IT course. She then successfully applied for a job as a doctors receptionist. She was taken on because of the willingness to learn new skills demonstrated by doing this course.

• USDAW represented a woman who worked as a deputy store manager in retail and after the birth of her baby she asked if she could go back to work part time. This request was refused and she was offered a lower graded supervisors position. USDAW took this up with the company whose attitude at the time was that managers in retail had to be full time and offer total flexibility about their hours of work. Fortunately their senior HR person acted as an advocate for encouraging women to work part time at senior level. USDAW worked with him to convince the employer that there would be recruitment and retention benefits to this approach. This worked and it subsequently became national company policy to allow women to work part time at store management level.

Education, careers guidance and skills

Q 6-9 What are the barriers to attainment of qualifications at school? What prevents girls from considering a wider range of subjects, in particular those more usually studied by boys? What good practice exists? What other solutions could encourage girls to consider a wider range of subjects? What are the barriers to women’s greater access to guidance? What good practice exists? Are there other solutions? What are the barriers to women’s greater access to training and lifelong learning? What good practice exists? What other solutions are there?

92. Segregation of the labour market starts early on in people’s lives, and there is an expanding body of evidence that shows that the choices girls and boys make in education has ramifications for their labour market choices in the longer term. Increasingly girls are outperforming boys in both GCSE and A Levels and are achieving higher grades in both. In 2003, 58% of girls compared to 47% of boys achieved five GCSE passes at grades A-C. Likewise, 43% of girls and 32% of boys passed 2 or more A Levels in 2003. [19] And while it is true that this may have an impact on the gender pay gap over the longer term (because lower educational attainment by females is one of the causes of the current gap) the fact that subject choices that girls and boys make are still clearly divided along gender lines may negate this slightly.

93. Analysis of the 2003/04 A Level results for England show that only 22% of students who took Physics and 37% of students who took Maths were female, compared to 70% of students who took English and 75% who took Psychology. This gender division is especially clear in the results for vocational A Levels. 95% of students who took an A Level in Health and Social Care and 79% of those who took Travel and Tourism were female. This is compared to the A Levels in Construction, where 8% of students were female and Engineering where only 4% of students were female. No female students reportedly took an A Level in Manufacturing. [20]

94. The General Formal Investigation currently being undertaken by the Equal Opportunities Commission into Occupational Segregation and Modern Apprenticeships has reinforced this. It has found that Modern Apprenticeships are highly segregated by gender, with women making up just one per cent of those starting on Foundation Modern Apprentice schemes (FMAs) but 97% of those starting FMAs in early years care and education. [21]

95. The TUC believes that choices and opportunities between ages 14-19 have important implications for job opportunities, future career paths, earning potential and quality of life. And the TUC is concerned that too many young people are given advice about academic and vocational education that perpetuates gender stereotypes.

96. Evidence given to the TUC from the Association of University Teachers (AUT) highlights the strong gender divide among teachers for different subjects. For example, women constitute 73% of academics in nursing and paramedical studies, but just 11.4% in electrical engineering. Furthermore, the AUT assert that out of 40 possible academic subject areas, women constitute the majority of academics in only seven of them, and these clearly follow the subject choices where female students tend to be concentrated: women make up 63% of academics in health and community studies; and 52% of those in psychology and behavioural sciences.

97. In order to address this, the TUC believes that equality should form part of the core curriculum in schools and this should include an emphasis on challenging stereotypes. Work-experience should actively encourage take-up in non-traditional areas for both sexes. Careers advice and guidance must also be high quality and offer objective information and support that are free from gender bias and stereotyping.

98. As part of this, schools and educational institutions must be supported more widely through partnerships between the Connexions service, careers advisors, regional bodies and local Learning and Skills Councils. The TUC also believes that trade unions have a vital role to play here through, for example, Union Learning Representatives who can support teachers and educationalists in these matters.

99. Access to objective Information, Advice and Guidance is a key issue throughout life adults as well as young people at schools, colleges and universities. However there are particular issues for women, particularly those returning to the workforce after time away looking after children, regardless of the level of qualification they have reached. Lone parents, who are predominantly women, also have particular needs around advice and guidance. For women in work, working hours and work-life balance issues mean provide additional barriers to accessing information, advice and guidance.

100. Further, it is important to ensure that there is a seamless relationship between IAG and Skills for Life. There also needs to be a coherent and integrated approach to ensure that Information, Advice and Guidance professionals and Skills for Life tutors work together effectively.

101. Access to advice and guidance may also be problematic for women who are disabled, migrant workers, from ethnic minority backgrounds, and geographically isolated. For the disabled, key issues include accessibility of services, while for migrants and some ethnic minorities language is a barrier. For those who are geographically isolated, difficulties in accessing face-to-face information and advice are also a barrier. Some key issues that need to be addressed in overcoming barriers to effective IAG are to ensure that outreach services are further developed and adequately funded to address barriers faced by hard to reach groups. IAG needs to be recognised as part of the whole learning experience and not as a stand-alone process.

102. The TUC supports the existence of a national IAG helpline offered through learndirect as offering a single point of contact. However for more in-depth support, provision of Information, Advice and Guidance for adults funded by the Learning and Skills Council and delivered through IAG partnerships is targeted towards the low skilled, which the TUC supports. The TUC would like to see the target groups expanded to other groups of learners such as those outlined above that may have a particular need for effective IAG to ensure equality of opportunity. Yet lack of awareness about the type of support that is available remains a problem, and consistent, coherent marketing of services is important. It is also important to ensure that the provision of IAG also sets out to challenge stereotypical assumptions about what is ‘women’s work’ and ‘men’s work’. Therefore IAG advisers require high quality training in providing high quality advice and guidance, challenging gender stereotypes is also important to tackle occupational segregation.

103. Trusted intermediaries such as Union Learning Representatives can also play an important role in promoting services to clients who face barriers to IAG. One of the key roles played by Union Learning Representatives is to provide information and advice to women, including part-time women and those returning to the workforce. The following are some case studies which illustrate the hugely positive role that lifelong learning and Union Learning has had on people’s lives.

104. According to LSC research, 40% of employers still don’t train. Employers provide less training to the lower skilled, who are disproportionately women. Increasingly flexible labour markets mean that non-standard forms of employment are widely taken up. Facilitating access to training for these groups of workers has an important gender dimension as part-time workers are predominantly women, as are around half of agency workers.

105. Work-based learning encourages women into learning. For example women may not have access to computers at home, even if there is a computer in the family, children or partner will often use it. Further for part-time and shift-workers, the provision of learning opportunities needs to fit in with their schedules. These workers should not be excluded from learning by virtue of their working arrangements, and there is European Union case law in this area. This disproportionately affects women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.

106. Both in terms of widening participation and responding to the needs of individual learners, in work-based learning, accessibility of provision is a key issue. The Employer Training Pilots, with their combination of flexible provision, free training and subsidies for time off are so far proving successful with learners from equalities groups, in particular women and ethnic minorities. Older workers are also benefiting from the Employer Training Pilots.

107. Delivery must be developed with the needs of different workers in mind. There is also the problem of discretionary leave arrangements, as managers may not understand the implications of particular issues, for example that a full day off may not suit some workers. The relationship between leave arrangements and access to learning is important, for example the TUC Time Of Our Lives Bristol project showed that 35% of women would have preferred different working patterns to take up opportunities for study.

108. It is important that the personal circumstances of learners are taken into account, and that the principles of inclusive learning are useful in aiming to achieve this. However it is also important that key elements of learner needs can be much wider than this, for example in terms of financial support, childcare, transport, etc. The negative experience of statutory education is an important barrier to learning, which can be also reinforced at work. This is especially the case for low paid and/or low skilled workers. Employers can contribute to this as well, for example when training and learning is not supported and encouraged, and when appropriate mechanisms are not in place to support learners.

109. Time off for training is a particularly big barrier for women trying to balance work and family commitments. The Employer Training Pilots currently being trialled by the Government in one third of local Learning and Skills Councils thus far are very successful in engaging learners, particularly older women. The ETP package involves free training up to level 2, which is tailored to the workplace, and employers receive a subsidy for employees to access paid time off to train. Therefore this represents a significant step forward for women in accessing training.

110. The TUC supports the extension of some form of ETP nationally as announced in the pre-budget report. The TUC believes that a right to paid time off to train for all workers, particularly up to level 2 is important in order to reach those employers that refuse to train their workers. This has important implications for the economy, as well as for individuals to reach their full potential.

111. Where employers are recipients of public funding, this provides a lever for specifically addressing equality and diversity issues. One example is through Apprenticeships. While incentives to take on apprentices in non-traditional areas are worth considering, rather offering more money, this idea could be developed in a more nuanced way that also contains responsibilities. For example, additional funding could be made available for employers who can demonstrate that they use it to make positive adjustments to workplace culture. While many large organizations will have their own equality and diversity policies, one area of work could be to assist small employers in developing policies if they take on an apprentice in a non-traditional area.

112. Large organisations need programmes to train managers on implementing learning polices. Very often it is at middle and senior management levels that initiatives get blocked because managers don’t understand the equality implications of learning. For example taking into account the needs of women workers, such as residential training is less likely to be suitable for women. Many people at work, especially women working part-time and balancing with other priorities, don’t get information. Imaginative ways are required to reach women, ethnic minorities and disabled people, for example in shopping centres or primary schools.

113. Sector Skills Councils will play a lead role in skill development, and it is important to consider the role that they play. Sector Skills Agreements provide another mechanism through which to lever employer commitment to challenging equality and diversity issues. While equality is one of the themes that Sector Skills Agreements are required to address, and it is important that this be taken seriously. Consideration could be given to linking equality initiatives to the availability of public funding. The focus must not only be on initiative to encourage women into male-dominated areas, but also around structural and institutional barriers in relation to employers and training providers. These might include initiatives with employers to combat discrimination, develop supportive workplace cultures, and promote the business case for a more diverse workforce.

114. The Government has a key role, not only in establishing equality as a key policy objective, but also in leading by example both as an employer and as a purchaser. There is enormous potential for the Government to use its considerable purchasing power (for example as the biggest single buyer in the construction industry) to support government policy. W hilst acknowledging the imperative of value for money, the definition of value should include good labour standards, including equality and diversity. There is a wide range of evidence (e.g. from the OECD, also the recent Work Foundation report ‘The Missing Link: From Productivity to Performance’) that demonstrates good employment practice and conditions are linked to business success, including strong evidence that investment in the skills of the workforce provides long-term value.

115. There is significant potential for this to occur at national level, but also at local level through local authorities. The National Procurement Strategy for Local Government includes equality as a consideration (although primarily based on race equality). The establishment of nine regional centres of procurement excellence illustrates developments in procurement policy in local authorities and the potential to develop this agenda.

116. Unions are at the front-line of facilitating access to learning for people in the workplace via Union Learning Representatives. ULRs have been very successful in engaging learners who have had little prior learning, or have been failed by the schools system. The work of Union Learning Representatives offers great opportunities for women to access learning in the workplace. The work of trade unions on this issue occurs not only in the workplace but at local, regional, sectoral and national levels. For example the Learning and Skills Councils work with union and regional TUC learning in many successful partnerships around the country.

117. Examples of learning representatives engaging in the equal opportunities agenda include delivering diversity training in learning centres, promoting LearnDirect as a way of making learning accessible to part-time workers, offering courses at night and at the weekend to ensure shift workers can attend and running a plumbing course on site where men and women learn together.

118. ULRs themselves are increasingly diverse, with a rising number of women and people from ethnic minorities taking on the learning rep role. Between two surveys of ULRs in 2000 and 2003, almost 2/3 of the new activists were women, and the numbers from ethnic minorities tripled. Therefore ULRs are increasingly reflecting the make-up of the workforce, and as such are well placed for engaging learners from equality groups. ULRs are particularly attractive to women who aren’t attracted to other roles of unions. There is a tangible enthusiasm for learning, and ULRs are a way to get proactive learning advocates. Increasingly diverse ULRs will draw in more people who are similar to them. This is something that only unions can do.

119. The Northern TUC Learning for All fund includes projects that have been particularly beneficial for women. The ESOL project looked to recruit ULRs who could represent Asian communities in the south of the region and set up ESOL courses at accessible venues in the community. The Women's Refuge project, with the GMB, set up an ICT learning Centre for Refuge staff and also Refuge users. The IT software packages included Confidence Building for Women, Managing a Budget and other elements to support women looking to be independent, as well as internet training and opportunities to improve basic skills.

120. The Labour Force Survey 2003 has indicated that the union effect on the incidence of training is significant and has increased over time. Whereas 39% of union members had on average done some training in the previous three months, only 26% of non-union members had. Furthermore, the union effect has increased over the last five years, with a 5 % increase for union members. Unionised workplaces were 17 per cent more likely to have a training centre and 11 per cent more likely to have a training plan. Training is more likely to deliver benefits to members where unions, in addition to being recognised, achieve an active role in training decisions at the workplace.

121. Unionisation increases access to training for women, but that benefit may be significantly greater for women than for men, in which case unions reduce inequality of access to training. This might reflect the significant union effect on the gender gap on pay, which has been greater than the introduction of the national minimum wage. If there were no unions, the gap would be 2.6% wider.

122. However the ability for this positive impact of trade unions upon access to training for all workers, and particularly women, is restricted by the absence of a statutory right to collective bargaining over training. Under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, union reps as a whole have a statutory right to paid time off in respect to negotiations/duties in respect to vocational training where there is a voluntary recognition agreement which covers vocational training. There was however no statutory duty on employers to negotiate or even consult with union reps.

123. If a union gets statutory recognition through the CAC then under the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992 the union has a right to:

• be consulted on the employer’s policy for training every 6 months

• require that the first meeting must take place within 6 months of the bargaining method being agreed/imposed

• receive from the employer any information on training without which it would be impeded in participating in the meeting within 2 weeks of the meeting

• receive a report on training undertaken since the previous meeting and

• have 4 weeks to make written representations to employer on their plans

• the employee- not the union - has a remedy at an Employment Tribunal for failure to consult on training

124. These rights apply to those bargaining units, which are covered by CAC Awards determining the method of collective bargaining, following balloting. Up to March 2004 (the latest date available), the prescribed bargaining method has only been applied by the CAC in six cases. The rights to be consulted on training do not apply to workplaces where there is voluntary recognition. Therefore the TUC hopes that the Commission will recognise the value of statutory rights for collective bargaining over training, and call upon the Government to implement this legislative change.

125. Equality Budgets, especially mainstreaming race and gender in the European Union, e.g. Equal Opportunities programmes, EQUAL, and the DTI Partnership fund can be used to create a connection between equality and learning. However many people don’t know how these work. It would be helpful to give information to providers explaining how these budgets are accessed (in addition to general learning budgets). These initiatives are not just opportunities for learning, but equality and work-life balance gateways. A key challenge is whether these can be brought together.

126. Textile workers are rolling up their shirtsleeves and getting to grips with basic skills, thanks to a new partnership between KFAT, the TUC, local colleges and firms, explains Prabha Gopal. Workers in the East Midlands textile industry are taking advantage of a new scheme offering them learning in the workplace, with the help of project worker Prabha Gopal. The Skills Boost project targets garment industry workers who have left school with poor basic skills, or who have arrived from the Indian sub-continent and had no chance to get to grips with English.

127. Asian women in the industry face particular problems, explains Prabha, herself a former employee of local firm Ramon Hygiene. 'If they struggle with the language they have to take their husband or children to the doctor with them or need to get someone else to fill in forms for them,' she explains. 'And then, when they come to work, they don’t feel confident talking with their manager.' Prabha’s mission is to help them grasp basic English skills by providing workplace courses, in partnership with their employers and tutors from Leicester and Gateway college. It’s territory she knows well: as a former shop steward with the textile workers union she was frequently called upon to use her language skills to ease communication between management and the shop-floor.

128. 'As a KFAT union rep, I was often used as an interpreter between management and staff, making the members understand what the issues were,' she explains. A keen learner herself - she’s completed the CLAIT introductory computer course and taken IBT 1,2 and 3 - she was eager to motivate colleagues to take up further learning that was on offer when she became union learning representative at Ramon. 'We enrolled 40 people onto courses with Leicester College - it was very positive, and many of the women have gone on to study IT now that they’ve got to grips with English,' she says.

129. TUC Learning Services development worker Chanda Parmar Bonta says SkillsBoost has offered 'fantastic opportunities' to local textile workers. 'It’s given them new options as well as opening doors that were previously shut to them, through a dynamic partnership involving their trade union, employers and the colleges.'

130. The Public and Commercial Service Union (PCS) and other civil service unions and the Inland Revenue set up an ambitious pilot in the Sussex area, using TUC expertise to develop a web-based best practice guide. The Government expects Inland Revenue offices to become more ‘customer focused’, with some evening and Saturday opening for selected offices. The challenge is to do this with staff support - and in a way that gives staff increased options that suit their lives as well as make better use of IT resources.

131. An innovative feature of the pilot Our Time project is the introduction of learning centres* in three of the area offices, which will provide free on-line learning opportunities through the PCS Learning Services and LearnDirect.

132. This project resulted in the Bringing Learning Into Work publication, which is a practical guide to setting up learn direct access points. It was produced by PCS under the OurTime project - a joint work-life balance initiative between the Inland Revenue in Sussex, the TUC and PCS.

133. For UNISON members, many of whom are low paid, the opportunity to increase skills for career or personal development is a lifeline. The union works in partnership with other organisations to provide a vast array of courses, from Return to Learn - which offers help with key skills such as reading and maths, to WEA workplace courses and Open University diplomas.

134. Health and social care are facing acute skills shortages ­ but UNISON is stepping up to the plate to help develop new educational opportunities. Back to school. The skill shortages in Britain’s public services are felt at every level. Poor recruitment and retention of teachers, nurses and police officers regularly grab the headlines. There are also gaps however, in the hard-pressed social care sector, from care assistants in residential homes to social workers and child protection officers working in tough circumstances. A plan to require all social care professionals (including care assistants) to have qualifications and be registered could make that shortage more acute.

135. There are reasons to be optimistic however. Creative thinking about how to tackle the problem in both health and social care is coming from UNISON in co-operation with employers and the Open University. At a keynote conference last month delegates charted the way ahead and assessed what had already been achieved. This includes access courses and opportunities to train for a diploma in social work, supported by UNISON and backed by employers. The Open University has played its part by developing custom-built courses to help those who have the knowledge and experience but lack the confidence to realise their full potential.

136. These workplace-based courses are crucial in helping people move up a gear and fill the skills gap. There is also an untapped reservoir of future nursing staff. Similar developments could see healthcare assistants make an important shift into nursing. The government is recognising this groundwork. Alan Johnson, the Minister for Employment Relations and Industry, speaking at the conference, congratulated the Open University, the Workers’ Educational Association, UNISON and CareConnect for their work together in providing workplace based training opportunities. He added: 'I hope the K100 continues to offer top quality training for aspirant carers and continues to add to the stock of dedicated professionals already working in health and social services.'

137. The Open University, launched more than 30 years ago, made its mark helping teachers study for degrees while still in the workplace. Today it is broadening that mission to staff who thought they were finished with education and education was finished with them. The landmark K100 provides a ‘foundation course’ for those wanting to develop skills and knowledge in both health and social care.

138. Meanwhile UNISON is negotiating with employers, persuading them to recognise the potential in their staff. With its Return to Learn (R2L) access course and partnership in the Care Connect learning ‘hub’ it is making people aware of what they could do for themselves and the services they work in.

139. Jan Walmsley, Dean of the School of Health and Social Welfare at the Open University, acknowledged the role UNISON had played in contributing to the fresh approach to training: 'They have demonstrated that they can offer added value to their members. UNISON has a strong educational tradition and they want to focus on education as a means of improving members’ lives and prospects. I am excited by the potential for organisational change." Steve Williams, head of UNISON’s Open College, identifies two strands ­ moving care workers towards social work and developing health care assistants (HCAs) into potential nurses. Some HCAs can become nurses through going to university but most will be unwilling to give up a full time job to do this. They want flexible ways of studying and working at the same time. Access to nursing through A levels has been a barrier to many HCAs but now they can get on their own NVQ route. We are helping them through our Return to Learn courses and working with the Open University on the K100 course. These are designed to help people who are terrified of doing any further study and to encourage them to dip their toe in the water. We also negotiate with employers to bring the Open University into social care work places. There are two different courses to train as a social worker for those who cannot get their qualifications through the traditional route.'

140. From the employers’ point of view, Nigel Grant, until recently training officer at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, also recognises the potential. 'SLAM worked with the Open University to give staff access to the K100 course. This gave people a very good stepping-stone towards diplomas in nursing and social work. Staff who have been neglected such as those working in clerical and domestic sectors, saw opportunities to develop a professional career.' But Grant sees the need to work both with staff and some managers who might be sceptical about putting time and resources into training employees. 'We are approaching this from both ends. But we tell managers who ask ‘why?’ there are two reasons for better training and careers opportunities. In the short term you have qualified staff who understand their organisation better and secondly ­ the long term ­ there is plain survival. In social care, qualifications will be essential."

Occupational Segregation

Q. 10-11 What are the barriers to women progressing in the workplace? What positive examples are there of women/companies overcoming them? What other solutions are there?

141. There are many ways in which trade unions already contribute to challenging this problem in the labour market. For example, through collective bargaining, trade unions have been able to secure Apprenticeship places for young people, including into non-traditional areas. Trade unions help ensure that apprentices get a good deal by negotiating agreements that include wages and conditions, and this often includes promoting equal opportunities. Trade unions also play a key role in protecting apprentices against discrimination. Further, many trade unions provide practical support for apprentices, for example we are seeing many examples of union reps, including learning reps, taking on mentoring roles. But we are not complacent and recognise that more work must be done.

142. The TUC has recently launched a joint booklet with the Learning and Skills Council, entitled ‘Apprenticeships: A guide for Union reps and negotiators’ as part of our efforts to boost the union role with regard to apprentices. The booklet makes specific reference to encouraging employers to take on non-traditional recruits, and emphasizes that unions can support apprentices, particularly non-traditional apprentices, by negotiating learning agreements. The booklet has also been launched in each TUC region in England. The issue of stereotyping in schools and colleges is extremely pertinent and efforts to challenge stereotyping need to be levelled at schools and colleges, as well as parents, careers services and Connexions services.

143. The TUC believes that the upcoming final report of the Tomlinson Working Group review of 14-19 curriculum and qualifications provides a crucial opportunity to challenge gender segregation, and the TUC used it’s submission to highlight the matter. The TUC would encourage the Commission to assess the recommendations of the Tomlinson Report when it is published in relation to stereotyping and occupational segregation.

144. The most positive approach to training and development within the public services comes from Agenda for Change in the NHS. Negotiated in partnership with the trade unions, Agenda for Change will have a significant impact on a workforce of which around three-quarters are women. It will introduce new entitlements on training and development based on the Knowledge and Skills Framework. This requires that for every post, there is a statement of the knowledge and skills needed, and how these should develop during an individual's time in post. It is the basis for annual development reviews and access to training and development opportunities. The Agenda for Change 'skills escalator' identifies a training programme for staff either to progress in their own job, or train for a career change - and then guarantees them the training. For thousands of non-registered NHS staff, this is the first time they have had access to these opportunities and the prospect of career progression. Employers will be given targets to ensure training is undertaken, which affects their ratings.

145. As a result of strong union involvement in the public sector, shortages of professional groups such as teachers, doctors, nurses and social workers have led to increased importance being afforded to assistant roles, filled by employees with fewer formal qualifications, to support different professional groups. Alongside work to strengthen regulatory frameworks around assistant roles unions are playing an active role to address the training and development needs and employment conditions of these workforces.

146. The EOC study [22] highlights a number of other positive initiatives, including the CITB Construction Workforce Development Plan. This set the sector a series of recruitment and retention targets, including:

• Dedicating resources to recruit 41,000 new entrants into industry-approved schemes; and

• Improving the recruitment of female and ethnic minority trainees by 10% a year.

• A number of other projects, including Women in the Built Environment and Women and Manual Trades, are working collaboratively to provide work experience and opportunities for women in the sector.

• Relatively few construction employers are seriously addressing gender segregation. But those that are appear to demonstrate the following best practice at overcoming barriers to women’s employment:

• Pre-recruitment taster courses.

• Engagement of union representatives on site to provide support and advice.

• High level management support in principle.

• Mentoring support provided by management in practice, backed up by equalities and zero tolerance policies.

• Flexible working.

• Requiring contractors to work respectfully alongside women employees.

147. Durkan Ltd works almost exclusively in the community construction sector, specialising in public and housing association refurbishment. The company’s initiatives in recruiting and training women in skilled trades are a response not only to the serious skills shortages confronting the industry, but also based on concerns to match the equalities’ ethos of many potential clients. The company does not recognise a trade union.

148. Commitment to training and employing women was endorsed at board level, and is supported by a range of policies:

• Culture change was reinforced by the appointment of a community liaison officer (CLO) responsible for ensuring that the proactive strategy towards employing women is delivered at ground level.

• The CLO provides an important mentoring and support service for both site managers and the female workers.

• A policy of zero tolerance towards sexist and racist behaviour, also applied to subcontractors who work with their apprentices and improvers.

• Flexible working, in order to attract workers of both sexes.

149. With a training budget of £400,000 a year - 1% of annual turnover - Durkan Ltd offers its services to several organisations encouraging women into the industry, such as Women and Manual Trades. Durkan is a founder member of Building Work for Women (BWW) and also assists Women’s Education in Building (WEB) with its training. Over the past five years, the company has trained more than 60 women improvers from BWW and WEB, employing eight female painter and decorators who had previously undergone NVQ site experience on Durkan projects. The company also conducts its own apprentice programmes. Six apprentices are currently employed on Durkan sites at various levels of their NVQ training in electrical engineering, carpentry and joinery. Overall, the company has directly employed 16 women in the past three years. Four have now moved on, including two who set up as self-employed subcontractors and work on Durkan project

Organisational Practice

Q. 12-13. What are the barriers to women’s greater economic participation within recruitment, retention and promotion policies and procedures? What are the positive examples and other solutions? . What are the barriers to undertaking equal pay reviews? What are the positive examples and other solutions? In particular, what are your views on mandatory pay reviews?

150. The union side evidence to the Local Government Pay Commission highlighted the recruitment and retention problems in the sector where almost three-quarters of staff are female. Recruitment and retention problems are acute among key areas such as social care, which is in turn a predominantly female occupation. Reasons include relatively poor pay and employment conditions, competition from other public sector employers, lack of career progression and increasing workloads.

151. The failure of councils to effectively recruit and retain permanent staff is reflected in unacceptably high proportions of staff employed on casual and temporary contracts. Nearly a quarter of council workers are currently employed on temporary, agency and fixed-term contracts. Unfilled vacancies have contributed to spiralling workloads, resulting in very high levels of unpaid overtime. Reasons for the high number of women employees in local government often include positive employment policies such as reasonable working hours, family-friendly policies, improved maternity pay and equal opportunities policies.

152. The vast body of evidence concerning equal pay shows that an element of the gender pay gap is due to discrimination in pay systems, and therefore it is the view of the TUC that pay reviews are an essential tool for tackling the gender pay gap. However, despite the consistent efforts of several unions to encourage employers to undertake pay reviews within their organisations, combined with the revision of the EOC’s Code of Practice on Equal Pay Reviews and sustained efforts by the Government over the past 5 years to encourage employers to undertake pay reviews voluntarily, there is still a great reluctance on the part of employers to do this.

153. One of the recommendations of the Equal Opportunities Commission’s Just Pay Report, published in 2001, was that 50% of employers with 500 plus staff should undertake an equal pay review by the end of 2003, and that 25% of all other employers should have undertaken one by the end of 2005. In the review of these targets published in 2004, the EOC found that while the first target was not met, the second one was likely to be met. In 2003, the Government set its own target that by June 2006 35% of large organisations should have undertaken an equal pay review - in 2004 the Government amended this so the target is now 45% of large organisations by 2008. The EOC suggest that this less ambitious target will be achieved. [23]

154. Following the publication of the Just Pay Report by the Equal Opportunities Commission, the TUC - with financial support from the Government - trained over five hundred reps and national officers to become equal pay reps, in order to enable them to work with employers to undertake equal pay reviews. As a result of this project, several unions now offer ongoing training to their reps to enable them to undertake pay reviews in their workplaces in partnership with employers and there are several examples of employers and trade unions working together to undertake pay reviews of their workplaces. Below are three case studies from the TUC’s Equal Pay Pilot Project, which highlight both the benefits and problems that unions have found in working with employers to undertake pay reviews.. [24]

155. The Amicus-MSF staffside chair at BAE Systems received encouragement from the company to go on the TUC equal pay reps training - indeed it was stated as one of his objectives. The training was found to be very useful and enjoyable, both in gaining a more in-depth knowledge of the issues and sharing thoughts and ideas with other trade unionists taking similar action. A working group, consisting of two union representatives and two members of the HR department, conducted a pay review in a pilot area of the company based on the EOC’s toolkit. The company has agreed to extend the pilot to the next part of the company on the Clyde, and the senior trade union members involved in the pilot will be available to offer advice.

156. The pilot review identified some small pay gaps of around 1% or less for many of the female staff. The largest gap identified, of 3.8%, affects up to a dozen female staff. Among second year graduates the review identified a very marginal difference in favour of female staff, and this trend will be monitored. As yet there has been no action taken to remedy the other differences identified. However the union hopes that within the next year the working group will have come up with a draft policy for eliminating the pay gaps discovered. The union is aware that implementation of any action recommended to remove the pay inequalities may be a difficulty, however the company has up to now been keen to address the issue of equal pay and be seen as an employer that provides fair pay for women. Currently male staff outnumber female ones, and the company wants to ensure that it can attract the best female engineers who graduate.

157. At the Public Record Office/National Archives a pay review carried out jointly by the unions and the employer at the Public Record Office/ National Archives identified pay gaps affecting around 80 staff of between 4% and 26% in one case. For one group of staff doing identical jobs there was a gender pay gap of 16%. The review identified four or five urgent cases of inequalities that needed to be addressed immediately and a further 15-20 that could be dealt with through accelerated action over a longer period. However the PCS is concerned that the management have not included in their report to the Cabinet Office details of action to address these and that they may not be asking the Treasury for sufficient additional funds to remedy the pay inequalities.

158. In addition, the review only looked at people doing identical jobs, and the union is keen to widen this to look at work of equal value, for example administrative staff in different sections that may be doing similar work but with different job titles and pay rates. The union believes that the pay review work has so far saved the employer from facing legal claims for equal pay, but will consider submitting claims if the pay inequalities uncovered are not remedied.

159. At Lloyds TSB pilot studies have been undertaken in three areas. One of these - the branch network in the West Midlands - was proposed by the union UNIFI, and the two head office departments were selected at random by the employer. The pilots identified gaps, but the employer is not going ahead with a full review as they do not have sufficient records of why the gaps are there. Instead the employer has come up with alternative proposals to address pay inequalities which involves equalising some rates of pay up to the local market rate. However the UNIFI rep is afraid that this will involve equalising some pay rates down over time, as there is currently a system of payment of up to 15% on top of market rates depending on performance. This is currently part of pay and therefore pensionable, but what the employer is proposing would be to pay additional rates as a one-off bonus, rather than adding it to the salary. The union is very concerned about the implications for pensions and will oppose the change.

160. In Wales, the TUC has recently undertaken a twelve month project (April 2004-April 2005) to work with employers to undertake equal pay reviews. The aim of this project was to identify and work with twenty employers in the private sector to undertake pay reviews in their companies, and identify a further twenty to help them get into a position where they could imminently undertake a pay review.

161. Wales TUC worked closely with unions and key agencies including the EOC to promote pay reviews throughout the private sector in Wales. Throughout the twelve months, the project officer worked closely with the unions and met with fifteen companies to discuss their organisation undertaking a pay review. Of these fifteen, three companies committed themselves to one; eleven expressed an interest; and one declined outright. In reviewing this project, the Wales TUC has reached several conclusions which the TUC believe are important for understanding employers’ reluctance to undertake pay reviews. Firstly, that businesses do not prioritise equal pay within their business strategy. Undertaking a pay review requires time and resources which many companies are unwilling to commit to a review if they do not have to; secondly, companies may well have a problem with equal pay - and especially equal pay for work of equal value - that will be uncovered by an review of their pay systems and they would prefer to ignore this; thirdly, employers simply do not see a business case for undertaking pay reviews - undertaking an equal pay review may not make a significant contribution to increasing the company’s competitiveness and profits.

162. As part of the 2004 settlement in local government, local authorities are required to conduct pay and grading reviews by April 2006. This is a welcome move and crucial to tackling the 33% difference in the hourly rates between male and female council workers. But without adequate central funding, equal pay will never be realised. Seven years after the successful negotiation of the Single Status agreement, just 20% of councils implemented it fully, usually because the cost to do so is too great. The differences between this agreement and Agenda for Change are stark, where central funding for equal pay has been made available in the NHS, but not local government.

163. At the heart of Agenda for Change is a new minimum wage, which is a significant step for lowest paid staff, many of whom are women. It represents an open, transparent and more easily understood system that conforms to the principle of 'equal pay for work of equal value' and introduces a competency-based pay system, where every job is described in terms of the competencies required. There are nine pay bands tied to employees' ability to do work, rather than the old system, which was based merely on annual pay rises.

164. In higher education, the Bett Report found low pay, widespread use of casual workers and extensive pay discrimination against women. It highlighted a particular problem in its pay system, with 10 different pay spines often with very long incremental scales for academic staff. The new pay structure, negotiated with the trade unions, aims to bring transparency and comparability across very different jobs to ensure that it is fair, underpinned by job evaluations. The 2003 resulted in the lowest paid receiving an uplift of more than 8% which has begun to address the 18% gender pay gap.

165. T he Cabinet Office’s equal pay action plan is a welcome step in tackling unequal pay in the civil service. It identified gender segregation and pay progression systems are the main discriminatory factors, with jobs held mostly by men holding pay leads and allowances for specialists skills generally not available to women. Efforts to tackle the problem are, however, undermined by two aspects of civil service pay. Firstly, pay delegation allows departments to set their own pay rates, leading to pay gaps between departments and secondly, funding is not set aside for pay progression and equal pay as part of annual pay settlements. Civil service unions recommend that equal pay audits should become an annual process and for equal pay issues to be integrated into pay and conditions bargaining across the civil service departments. The scope of audits should also be widened to include ethnicity, non-pay benefits and promotion.

166. Good practice can be identified in the Welsh Assembly, which works under an 'equality clause' inserted into the Act that created it in 1998. The clause ensures that policies are equality-proofed and equal pay audits are mandatory across all Welsh public services.

167. The TUC supports mandatory pay audits as a means of tackling the discrimination element of the gender pay gap and has called for the Government to implement these for a number of years - it is our belief that several of the problems identified in the above case studies would also be eliminated if pay reviews were made mandatory. In its submission to the EOC’s Task force on equal pay, the TUC recommended that employers should be placed under a duty to monitor their workforce and review their pay systems by gender, ethnic origin and disability, as well as to adopt equal pay policies. The TUC further recommended that Trade unions should have enforceable rights to be involved in this process, and that employers should be under a legal obligation to publish information about the progress and outcomes of workforce monitoring, pay reviews and equal pay policies.

168. In its review of the progress of equal pay reviews being undertaken by organisations, the EOC found that several employers who had no intention of undertaking a review 'stated that they believed they already provided equal pay'. [25] The Wales TUC project officer reinforced this view 'many companies do not think they have a problem with equal pay and therefore do not see a need to undertake an equal pay audit.' [26]

169. It is not surprising then that despite more than thirty years of equal pay legislation, women earn 82 pence for every pound earned by men, and part-time women workers earn 60 pence. The UK has the one of the widest overall gender pay gaps for hourly earnings in Europe. [27]

170. Recent reports by the Government and the EOC have highlighted the negative impact of the pay gap on women and the economy. The Cabinet Office calculated that the ‘female forfeit’ for a woman with GCSEs and no children was £241, 000 over her lifetime and higher for mothers. [28] Unequal pay follows women into old age. Lower pensions and the long term effects of divorce and career-breaks contribute to the poverty of older women.

171. While the Equal Pay Act 1970 formally made different rates for the same job unlawful, a highly segregated labour market and the perpetuation of de facto women-only grades and pay structures has meant that discrimination continues to exist to an extent almost unparalleled elsewhere in Europe. The causes of pay discrimination in the UK are rooted in the past. The history of UK pay structures has contributed to the stark pay disparity between men and women. [29]

172. Of particular significance when looking at the systemic causes of the pay gap is the issue of the value attached to women and men’s work. The highly segregated UK labour market and the demise of national collective bargaining has ensured that the widespread undervaluation of women’s work continues thirty years after the implementation of the Equal Pay Act. Occupational segregation is both a cause and consequent of the undervaluation of women’s work. What is clear however is that the pay gap will never be closed unless the low value placed on women’s caring work, especially in the public sector, is addressed by the Government and other public, and private, sector employers. Reducing occupational segregation on its own cannot solve the problem of women’s unequal pay - and at worst it could bring more men into low paid occupations.

173. Ending institutional discrimination in pay systems can be challenging for employer and union alike because it disrupts established differentials and assumptions. Most pay discrimination is unintentional and arises because employers and union negotiators have simply not thought about the impact of long standing pay arrangements or compared the pattern of plus-payments for predominantly female and predominately male jobs.

Understanding Equal Value: the Impact of the Equal Pay Act 1970

174. The Equal Pay Act became law in 1970, although it did not come into force for another five years. While the intention was to give employers a period of time in which to adapt to the new law, in practice it provoked adaptations to pay structures, which often had the effect of institutionalising aspects of pay discrimination. Although specific women’s rates of pay were eliminated, de- facto women-only grades were created. Jobs were sometimes re-graded in a discriminatory way, for example by valuing heavy work above repetitive light work, and different terms and conditions of employment negotiated for men and women doing equal work. Such structures perpetuated the gender segregation in the labour market and sometimes made it harder, not easier, for women to compare their work to men’s. Where structures had been negotiated both the employer and union had a vested interest in the new arrangements, the legacy of which continue to affect many current pay structures.

The question of value

175. One of the main difficulties of the original EqPA was its narrow definition of equal pay and the requirement that a woman compare her work to a man doing the ‘same or broadly similar work or work rated as equivalent’. The problem was that in a gender segregated labour market men and women did not do the same work and relatively few employers had carried out job evaluation studies. The EqPA made no provision for the concept of equal pay for work of equal value embodied in the equal pay provisions of the Treaty of Rome (now Article 141). Infringement proceedings brought by the European Commission against the UK Government resulted in the implementation of the Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations 1983. These Regulations, brought in by an unwilling government, were described in the parliamentary debate as a ‘statutory instrument of Byzantine complexity’ and by Lord Denning as ‘ tortuous and complex beyond compare’.

176. The undervaluing of women’s work, especially ‘caring’ jobs such as nursing, teaching, childcare, and service jobs has resulted in systemic inequality. National cultural norms, influenced by a highly segregated labour market, continue to affect the way women’s work is assessed and valued. For example in the UK a full-time qualified female nurse earns 6 per cent less than the average earnings of all male full-time employees. But in contrast equivalent nurses in Australia earn 18 per cent more than average male earnings [30] .

177. The TUC argues that costly litigation is not the way to deal with the undervaluation of women’s work and urges the Commission to recommend that the Government ensure that all public and private sector employers implement equal value principles in their pay structures. The TUC believes that the issue of cost should not be dodged - fair remuneration of currently undervalued work will cost employers money. However, set against the cost of a planned approach, as exemplified in the NHS Agenda for Change exercise, should be set the costs of successful large scale equal pay challenges. There is an obvious relationship between the undervaluation/ low pay of women’s work and the need for state intervention to support low-income families and poor female pensioners.

In 1985 five domestic assistants at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast compared their work with that of male porters and groundsmen at the same hospital. Eleven years after the claim was first lodged, the number of domestic assistants claiming equal pay had risen to 900. The Health Board eventually agreed a settlement with Unison, the women’s union, at an estimated cost over a million pounds.

178. Action taken by employers to rectify unequal pay is often prompted by legal action, or the fear of it. The proposed new public sector duty to promote gender equality will no doubt act as a further trigger. In Wales, where the Assembly requires sponsored bodies to complete audits, there has been a growth in the number of employers approaching unions and advice bodies for assistance in conducting equal pay audits. This has highlighted two issues; one is the ignorance among a number of employers about what equal pay is - some appear not to realise that it is about sex discrimination; the other is the failure of employers to understand the financial implications of rectifying the problem. This could clearly impede progress in eliminating the gender pay gap.

179. The Regulations to be made under the Equality Bill (which will introduce the new Commission on Equality and Human Rights) introducing a public sector duty to promote gender equality should impose specific duties on public sector employers regarding equal pay issues including a duty to review and monitor.

180. Legislation should also be introduced to allow for trade unions and the CEHR to bring equal pay claims on behalf of groups of workers. Equal pay legislation should allow for the possibility of a hypothetical comparator, as required by the Equal Treatment Amendment Directive to be implemented in the UK by October 2005.

181. It is clear that employers and unions need expert assistance to help them with the complex task of job evaluation. This is not only because of the technical complexity but also because the parties involved are likely to have a direct interest in the outcome. The outcome may also require employers to take actions which do not necessarily fit their current ideas of how the workplace should be organised - performance appraisal systems, job descriptions, recruitment strategies, etc. Third party intervention can introduce objectivity and impartiality. The Government must ensure that organisations such as the EOC (to become integrated into the Commission for Equality and Human Rights) and ACAS are properly funded to provide such assistance.

Institutional pay discrimination -UK pay structures

182. The particular nature of UK pay structures has compounded the problem of low paid women-only wage rates and grades. For instance, a report by London local authorities in 1987 cautioned that ‘the pay structures in local authorities for manual and craft employees have arisen with little regard to the idea of equal value and the knock-on effects of a successful claim could be enormous’. The authorities examined the gender distribution of bonus, overtime and plus payments and concluded that while there were relatively small differences between the basic rates of men and women, there were enormous differences between their actual earnings. An employee’s sex was a better indicator of their earnings than their grade or basic rate - a crucial factor determining an employee’s earning was access to bonus and productivity awards. Historically these had been negotiated for male-dominated jobs but not for women’s work, where union organisation was weaker and because some managers believed that the women were already 'so productive that there was nothing to be gained from introducing an incentive scheme.' [31] .

183. Payment structures with low basic pay rates create a dependency on overtime premium payments and can contribute to unequal pay as well as unequal division of home responsibilities. Male higher earning means that for many young parents the only sensible family economic decision is for the mother to reduce or adapt her working hours to the needs new children. The consequence is diminished financial independence for the mother and long working hours for fathers seeking to supplement a reduced family income.

184. Inequality in earning power produces systemic inequality at home and at work, with men excluded from family life by excessively long working hours, and women trapped in a cycle of care and adaptation to family needs, with long term economic consequences for female careers and pensions. Mothers and carers are forced to accept jobs that fit in with caring needs, often below their skill level and undervalued. Where there is a divorce, financial dependency makes the position of both partners more complex - the woman is unlikely to have adequate independent earning power or pension provision, while the man may have to make maintenance payments he can barely afford and assign part of his pension to his non or low earning ex-wife.

Part-time working

185. Part-time working, a key feature of a highly segregated labour market, further accentuates the pay gap and the under valuation of women’s work. The Low Pay Commission calculated that over two-thirds of the beneficiaries of the NMW were women, of whom two-thirds worked part-time. Around 44 per cent of all women work part-time: women working part-time earn only 74 per cent of women working full-time. [32] In the service sector full-time female sales assistants earn 45 per cent of the average pay of all male employees [33] . Even in professions where formal equal pay predates the EqPA, such as teaching, the areas where women predominate are lower paid than male preserves - primary school teachers earn less on average than secondary teachers and female secondary teachers earn less than male colleagues. In 2000 the union representing teachers in further and higher education found that women academics were being paid up to £8000 pa less than men doing the same jobs in exactly the same subjects [34]

186. As well as lower hourly pay, women working part-time may have reduced entitlements to a range of pay benefits, including pension contributions, unsocial hours premia, performance-related pay, additional holiday entitlement and discount schemes. Where work has been redesigned around part-time contracts, wage norms and job security standards may have been decreased - for example in the FE sector the outsourcing of many part-time contracts to agencies has resulted in reduced access to maternity pay, paid sick leave and holidays. Part-time workers also frequently experience discrimination in recruitment, training and promotion. Part-time jobs tend to be low skilled, with limited opportunities available to work part-time in higher-grade occupations.

187. Evidence suggests that women face overwhelming difficulties establishing gender parity in access to bonuses, increments and fringe benefits. [35] Another potential barrier to equal pay is the secrecy surrounding pay structures and what people earn. Discrimination is most likely to occur where pay systems are not transparent. Additional payments are particularly vulnerable to discrimination where there is a discretionary element or if payments are given to single-sex job groups.

188. The TUC believes that at a time when young women are more highly skilled than ever, properly valued ‘women’s work’ will enable women to stay in the labour market in appropriately skilled jobs as they enter the childbearing years. Properly valued and paid women’s work will do much to encourage a more equal division of labour in the home as well as at work, with benefits for women and men, as well as the state.

189. The TUC and unions believe that the under-valuation of women’s work is a fundamental problem. Work should be rewarded according to the demands, skills and decision-making required. Concern about occupational segregation should not obscure the underlying problem of low value and low pay attached to the work women do. We strongly argue against any suggestion that encouraging women to move into traditionally better-paid male jobs should be the major focus of concern in strategies to narrow the pay gap.

190. The problem is largely one of value. Childcare workers and social carers are undervalued and under paid. Car mechanics and computer salesmen are more highly paid. The reasons for the disparity reflect outdated social norms. Women in social care are skilled workers with responsibility for vulnerable people who enjoy their work, take pride in helping others and providing an important service. On the whole women do not want to have to change their jobs. They want to be properly and fairly paid for the work they do.

191. The TUC believes that unless the Government funds fair remuneration in public sector jobs, especially social care, there will serious recruitment and retention problems in services which have increasing social importance. The concept of equal pay for work of equal pay is a radical one because it questions the value traditionally placed on typically female tasks such as ‘responsibility for people’ as against the high value that has in the past been given to jobs involving male muscle. If the principle of equal pay for work of equal value were rigorously applied in caring and ‘people-oriented’ occupations, especially in the public sector where the vast majority of undervalued women’s jobs exist, major inroads would be made to narrow the pay gap (add stats on women in public sector manual jobs).

192. The following paragraphs looks at what the principle of equal pay for work of equal value means in practice, in terms of real jobs in real organisations, and how jobs of equal value can be identified.

Grading reviews and the public sector

193. The TUC commends the attempts to deal with the complexities of equal value in the health service and local government. However it is clear that these bold joint employer-union reviews can only be successful if adequately funded.

194. In the health service there has been a determined attempt to use job evaluation as a means to deliver equal pay for work of equal value. The Agenda for Change exercise is a good example of how employers and unions motivated by a genuine desire to achieve equal pay can work together to find an organisational solution to pervasive inequality and systematic undervaluing of female dominated job categories. Large equal value claims in the health service (see boxes) left no doubt that an NHS-wide review to equal value was a cost effective organisational response. Agenda for Change is currently being rolled out and time will tell how successful it is in achieving the organisational change necessary to avoid further expensive litigation. It is worth noting that Treasury funding for Agenda for Change increases the likelihood of meeting equal pay objectives in the health service. It should, of course, be noted that dealing with the pay gap does not necessarily mean the same thing as dealing with low pay, especially in a low paid sector such as the health service.

195. While local government has undergone two thorough job evaluation reviews, designed to deal with equal value issues, the fact is that the single status agreement has not overcome underlying difficulties of implementation costs. In addition, plus payments (premium payments, bonuses and overtime rates) continue to be more common in male jobs than female jobs. Women in local government have recently lodged a significant number of equal pay claims. The failure to implement equal pay for work of equal value in local government leaves councils vulnerable to costly equal value claims.

196. The TUC urges the Women and Work Commission to highlight the importance of adequate funding to implement equal pay for work of equal value across the public sector. The TUC believes that, notwithstanding some shortcomings, the NHS and local government models of employer/union grading reviews are necessary in all areas of the public sector. The problem of implementation of the local government single status agreement highlights the importance of funding. The increasing reliance of an aging population on social care and the need for high quality child care makes it imperative that social care jobs in particular are properly and fairly rewarded according to demands of the work, rather than the current depressed market value attached to ‘women’s work’.

197. Equal pay audits do not cover the complex issue of equal value. Equal value should not be dealt with in a piecemeal way but as a planned organisational response to changing values and social norms. The TUC urges the Government to adopt a planned approach to dealing with the undervaluation of women’s work throughout the public sector, including outsourced public services. Private sector employers should be encouraged to undertake job evaluation exercises to ensure equal pay for work of equal value - one mechanism could be a requirement that over a period of time a percentage of annual turnover is committed to delivering pay equity.

Flexible Working

198. Some employers view high quality flexible work as crucial in their effort to recruit and retain employees and become an employer of choice. By 2011 nearly 80 per cent of workforce growth will be accounted for by women, who will make up over half the employed workforce by 2006 [36] . Flexible working for women and men is an important strategy in assisting women combine work and family. Good employers have re-organised work to ensure that employees working flexible patterns are not disadvantaged and trapped in low-paid, part-time jobs.

199. In spite of an increase in flexible work contracts and the new right of parents to request a variation in their working hours to fit in with childcare responsibilities, discrimination against part-time workers continues as an important factor in pay inequality. The TUC believes that good quality flexible work can make an important contribution to enabling women to maintain their earning potential. However, even good quality flexible work often carries a penalty and leaves the flexible worker working below their potential or in undervalued work.

200. What are your views of equality and equal pay representatives? How would one become an equal pay representative? What would be the basis in law? What support would be necessary from trade unions and from employers?

201. The strongest argument for a statutory basis for union representatives of any type is the vulnerability of workers who might put themselves forward to be union representatives without employment protection. In addition in order to be able to do the job effectively, paid time off for duties and activities or training is also necessary. Employers may in some cases agree to provide such facilities voluntarily but without legal protection, the facilities could be removed or suspended at will, for example, if the employer felt that the representative was too assertive. The survival intact of these rights for union representatives during the long period of Conservative Government is indicative of a broad acceptance that statutory protection is necessary.

202. The Government put Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) and Safety Representatives onto a statutory basis because they accepted the valuable role played by unions in helping to deliver Government policy in the workplace and in improving employment relations. Similarly, the Government has rightly identified promotion of diversity in the workplace and the elimination of discrimination as key issues. It would be consistent in policy terms to afford the same rights to equality representatives. It gives employers the clear message that they need to engage the voice of employees on a systematic basis in developing their own strategies and employment practices.

203. A more difficult issue to decide is whether such protection and facilities should be provided on a statutory basis only where unions are recognised, as is the case for example with generic union representatives and ULRs, or for any elected employee representative conforming to certain standards and within prescribed parameters, for example, safety representatives and member trustees. Another option would be to provide the protection but not the facility rights, for example, Information and Consultation (I&C) representatives. EU law has made it obligatory for all employees to have the right to collective representation on certain issues, for example, safety, meaning that where there is not a union recognised, the employer must allow for the election of employee representatives. In the case of equality representatives there is no obligation in terms of discrimination law, though much discrimination law does emanate from the EU and there are discussions currently in the EU about collective representation to cover a range of EU Directives. It could be argued that by introducing statutory rights for equality representatives the Government would be prepared for any future EU legislation on the matter.

204. There is now much discussion over whether and how the voice of employees should be heard - and more generally about the kind of employment relations architecture we should create in twenty-first century Britain. Unions have argued for a strong legal framework to ensure that workers have a right to be heard through independently elected representatives, and a right to have their working conditions negotiated by their representatives. Decision-making can be improved through a process of genuine dialogue where minds can be changed. Engaging the knowledge and expertise of workers will help to ensure that bad judgments are avoided - and as a consequence, the legitimacy of the outcome is enhanced. It is important to recognise that while differences of interest between employers and workers may arise there are many areas where interests are shared. This fundamental principle must be understood if change is to be managed successfully and if more organisations in the UK are to become high performance workplaces.

205. Representative participation and high performance go hand in hand. To suggest otherwise is to ignore the consistent findings of research examining successful organisations across the world. The TUC would highlight participation in decision making (both individual and representative) as particularly relevant to the Women and Work Commission’s discussions on equality representatives. An organisation that offers higher level of information to employees and is more willing to listen to them will achieve better results. Firstly, this is an excellent way to tap into the company’s best source of market intelligence - front-line staff are often the first to become aware of problems or opportunities. Secondly, a commitment to employee involvement is the first step on a ladder of business gains. Involving employees in decision-making and giving them a real influence over decisions leads to higher morale and to staff being more likely to support workplace change.

206. The mutually reinforcing tendencies of direct and indirect participation are reflected in employees’ own hopes for industrial relations. For a long time it has been clear that workers make a distinction between issues on which they want to be consulted as individuals and those where they want to be involved via representatives. In the 1990s, the European Foundation study commented on employees’ 'division of labour attitude,' as they dealt with 'concrete work task problems themselves, while preferring to delegate more general problems to institutions like works councils and unions.' This is confirmed by the TUC’s own study. We asked workers how they would prefer to deal with a series of issues, individually or on a collective basis:

207. How would you prefer to deal with each of the following problems?

208. All of this would seem to confirm that allowing independent collective representation of workers is most likely to deliver diversity in the workplace.

209. As indicated above, the TUC is engaged in providing training for union representatives on equal pay bargaining. There are two ways of approaching pay bargaining on equal pay. One is to continue to focus on training existing union representatives. This approach would be enhanced by providing statutory support for collective bargaining on equality issues would be to add equality to the list of issues on which collective bargaining must take place following an award of recognition under the statutory processes introduced in the 1999 Employment Relations Act. However, following a review of the Act in 2003, despite lobbying from the TUC, the Government declined to add equality to the items specified in the legislation.

210. The advantage to this route would be the 'mainstreaming' of equality; the disadvantage would be that there would be no specific incentive to unions and their members with a particular interest in or experience of equality issues to become representatives. Existing evidence shows that few collective agreements currently specify equality. The forthcoming TUC Equality Audit for 2005, which focuses on collective bargaining, will provide more evidence of collective bargaining on equality.

211. The second is to designate equality representatives who would either be directly involved in pay bargaining with a specific remit to tackle equal pay, or would advise/train generic representatives as part of their wider function as equality representatives. The two are not mutually exclusive of course. It is suggested that designated equality representatives should either be directly involved in pay negotiations or train generic negotiating representatives. This choice should be left to unions.

212. It is important to train union representatives to handle equal pay but this would not equip them to bargain or represent workers on diversity issues more generally. The TUC therefore proposes having designated equality representatives with statutory backing and with a remit either to be directly involved in collective bargaining on pay or to train/support generic negotiating representatives on equal pay. The remainder of this section sets out a possible statutory framework, which is essentially a hybrid of the existing rights for union representatives, ULRs and safety representatives.

213. Time off rights for union reps derive in the main from provisions in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA). In 2003 similar rights were created in statute for Union Learning Representatives (ULRs). The existing ACAS Code of Practice on Time off for TU Duties and Activities was expanded to incorporate the new rights for ULRs. The Code has statutory force and is admissible in Employment Tribunal Proceedings. It can be amended by Order at any time. The rights are only available to representatives/ULRs in recognised workplaces and for representatives of independent unions. There is a clear distinction between time off for duties and time off for training. In essence, union representatives are entitled to the following:

• 'Reasonable' time off for union officials during working hours to carry out certain union duties related to negotiations with the employer or other activities agreed with the employer; an official is an employee who has been elected or appointed in accordance with the rules of the union;

• The duties must be concerned with specified matters (specified in the TULRCA for reps and in the Employment Act 2002 for ULRs) and for which the union is recognised for the purposes of collective bargaining or which the employer has agreed the union may perform;

• The specified matters for representatives are terms and conditions of employment and the Code gives examples, including pay, hours, holidays, pensions and training; contractual relations are also specified, including recruitment, redundancy and grievance and disciplinary procedures. Also specified are representational activities, negotiations over facility time for union officials and induction for new union members.

• Reasonable time off may also be sought for preparing for negotiations, informing members of progress with negotiations and explaining outcomes to members.

214. ULRs are entitled to time off (as long the employer has been given notice in writing that the employee is a learning representative who has met specified conditions - see below) for the following duties:

• Analysing and providing information on learning or training needs;

• Arranging learning or training;

• Consulting the employer about learning/training;

• Preparation for the above

• Training for the above (see also below)

215. Where the employer permits representatives/ULRs to take time off for union duties they must pay them what they would have earned had they been working. They also have a right under the Employment Relations Act 1999 to take paid time off to act as a 'companion' to a fellow worker in a grievance or disciplinary hearing.

216. The legislation does not specify how many representatives there should be. Employers are also recommended (though not obliged) to provide accommodation and equipment for the representatives and the names of new employees so that the union can approach them for recruitment purposes.

217. Representatives are allowed 'reasonable' paid time off for training relevant to carrying out their duties. ULRs are also allowed paid time off for training relevant to their functions. Training must be approved by the TUC or their union and ULRs must be 'sufficiently trained' for their duties either at the time when the union gives notice to the employer that they are a ULR or within six months of that date. There is no such requirement for generic union representatives.

218. Under new Regulations due to come into force in April 2005, I&C representatives and representatives elected or appointed to negotiate I&C agreements will acquire similar rights to time off for duties but not for training. These employees may or may not be union representatives too, depending on what agreement is reached between the employer and the workforce.

219. Recognised independent unions have a right to appoint safety reps that have a wide range of powers. The HSC has produced a Code of Practice and guidance on the regulations that give safety representatives their powers (Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977).

220. The duties/functions of safety representatives include:

• The investigation of potential hazards in the workplace;

• The investigation of complaints by employees relating to health and safety;

• Making representations to the employer about health and safety matters;

• Carrying out inspections in accordance with the regulations;

• Representing the employees they cover in consultation with the HSE and other enforcing authorities;

• Receiving information from inspectors;

• Attending meetings of company safety committees

221. Safety representatives are appointed or elected by the recognised union, which must inform the employer in writing of their appointment. The legislation does not specify how many representatives there should be; research by LRD suggests an average of one representative per 70 workers. They must be employees of the employer and should, where possible, have at least two years’ service with that employer or in similar employment. Safety representatives have a right to paid time off to carry out their duties. It is now permissible for unions to appoint roving safety representatives who are able to visit workplaces outside their own to offer advice and assistance, though access is a matter for the employer to agree. Similarly, their own employer would have to agree to give them time off. The TUC or their union must train safety representatives and they must be paid their normal wage while training. Employers must establish Safety Committees where at least 2 safety representatives ask them to do so in writing.

222. Under the 1995 Pensions Act, employers who have an occupational pension scheme must allow the workforce to elect member trustees. Under the current Pensions Bill, if the employer is proposing to make changes to the scheme they must consult any recognised union, and/or I&C representatives/existing workforce representatives, or, if there are none of these, the employees directly.

223. Other types of workforce representation with statutory backing are: representatives elected to negotiate workforce agreements in relation to the Working Time Regulations and the Parental Leave Regulations and representatives elected for the purposes of consultation under the Collective Redundancies and TUPE Regulations, and also 'representatives of employee safety' where no union is recognised. They have rights to paid time off in relation to their limited duties.

224. All the above representatives are protected in law against detriment or unfair dismissal where it arises as a result of their being a representative, carrying out their duties or attending training. This is an automatic right (ie, no qualifying period).

225. Reliable information on the number of existing union representatives is not available from one source. From the TUC’s own biennial survey of union safety representatives it is estimated that there are currently between 150,000 and 160,000 union safety representatives. The TUC also estimates that there are a few hundred non-union 'representatives of employee safety'. The most recent reliable estimate of the number of generic union representatives comes from the 1998 WERS survey, which said that there were 218,000 representatives. There are now around 8,000 ULRs. There may be some double counting in these figures as some generic representatives also take on the role of ULR, for example. Similarly, it is likely to be the case that if there were to be statutory rights for equality representatives, some would do this in addition to other official representative functions.

Proposed Framework for Union Equality Reps

226. The main issues are: duties/functions; training; employment protection rights. All these would be added into the existing ACAS Code of Practice, as were those for ULRs. In terms of duties/functions, based on the concerns outlined above in the paragraphs on diversity, the following broad list of topics is proposed (not in order of importance and not exhaustive):

• Promotion of best practice on equality of opportunities;

• Compliance with all legal obligations by employers and employees;

• Training and education for all employees on equality matters;

• The investigation of complaints by employees of discriminatory practices;

• Resolution of conflicts between employees and employers on such matters, either individually or collectively;

• Conducting audits of pay systems and working conditions to identify directly or indirectly discriminatory practices and procedures;

• Making representations to the employer about discriminatory or potentially discriminatory practices, conditions, etc;

• Monitoring and evaluating the composition of the workforce, location of employees from disadvantaged groups within grading systems, impact of performance appraisal systems, grievance and disciplinary procedures and practices;

• Conducting access assessments in terms of disability;

• Negotiating targeted training and workforce development programmes for those from disadvantaged groups;

• Representing the employees they cover in consultation with the EHRC and other enforcing bodies

• Receiving information from relevant statutory authorities.

• Receiving information from the employer in relation to their duties (see below under 'Rights')

• Developing access plans to ensure that disabled workers are not disadvantaged in any way

Training

• Equality representatives will be given reasonable paid time off for relevant training and updating on TUC or union courses in relation to their responsibilities.

Employment Protection Rights

• Equality representatives will be appointed or elected by recognised independent trade unions

• Employers must establish equality committees where two or more equality representatives so request)

• Equality representatives will have the right to reasonable paid time off as per existing union/safety representatives

• Equality representatives will have a right to information from the employer to assist them in the duties set out above, e.g. pay information. This would be based on current rights to information for collective bargaining purposes.

227. Because of current shortages of representatives in some workplaces it may be that some existing representatives would take on the role of equality representative in addition to their existing duties. Some generic union representatives are also ULRs for example. This should only happen as a fallback though and where it does happen the Code should encourage employers to allow extra facility time and time for training. The introduction of statutory rights for equality representatives could of course have a refreshing effect on union representation in general. One third of ULRs had not had any previous experience of being a union representative and a significant number were young women and black workers. It is likely that workers from these categories, and also disabled and lgbt workers would be more enthusiastic about taking on the role of equality representative initially and may then be attracted to a broader representational role.

228. It is proposed that statutory rights should be introduced for union equality representatives based on the existing rights for union representatives but using the duties and activities set out above.

Q. 15 What are the solutions will engender best practice in firms? In particular, what solutions might support and engender best practice in small firms?

229. The TUC takes the view that the presence of trade unions and collective bargaining within firms are key determinants for best practice. The recent Employment Tribunal Users Survey revealed that workplaces where there was a trade union presence were far more likely have in place effective internal workplace procedures. There is also likely to be a greater awareness of, and compliance with employment rights in workplaces where workers are represented by trade unions.

230. A recent report Managing to Change [37] , which was a key product of the ESRC’s Future of Work programme, shows that union presence is ‘positively linked with a series of human resource and staff development policies’ associated with high performance workplaces. Based on interviews with 2,000 employers in autumn 2002, the study found that unionised workplaces are more likely to:

• Provide occupational pensions.

• Provide sick pay above the statutory minimum.

• Have family-friendly policies.

• Employ workers on temporary contracts.

• Outsource activities formerly undertaken by own employees.

• Increase the training of employees to cover additional jobs.

• Have career ladders.

• Increase the use of work improvement groups.

• Have suggestion schemes.

• Have briefing groups.

• Make increasing use of IT.

231. There is also a strong union training premium. 39.2% of union members have had job-related training or education in the last three months, compared with just 26.2% of non-members - and the union effect has increased over the last five years, with a 5% increase for union members. Significantly, women union members are more likely to have received recent training: 33.8% of male employees compared with 44.6% of females. [38] The impact of the growth of Union Learning Reps since 1998 is clearly playing a significant role in driving up the demand for, and supply of, training in unionised workplaces. There are now over 7,000 Union Learning Reps actively engaged in the learning agenda in workplaces and the projection is that there will be 22,000 by the end of this decade.

232. Small businesses score badly on matters like low pay, equality policies, and some aspects of health and safety. [39] Small businesses are also over - represented in terms of employment tribunal applications. In 1998 small firms with fewer than 25 employees accounted for 46% of tribunal applications [40] , though employers employing less than 20 accounted in 2002 for only about 20% of employment and 22.3% of people employed. Similarly if we take employers with less than 10 employees, we find that in 1998 these accounted for 26% of tribunal applications from what in 2002 was 15.6% of people employed. In 1998, 50% of redundancy payments cases, 32% of discrimination cases, 61% of Wages Act cases, 56% of breach of contract cases, and 42% of unfair dismissal cases originate from enterprises employing less than 25 employees [41] .

233. The TUC takes the view that the high proportion of tribunal claims emanating from small firms is at least in due to the lack of union presence. Small businesses are characterised by low levels of trade union membership, low levels of trade union recognition, and low levels of collective bargaining coverage. The WERS survey suggests that there was a trade union presence in only 20% of small businesses (between 10 and 20 employees) and that 9% of these businesses recognised a trade union. These low levels of worker representation are paralleled by what has been referred to as the ‘weak human resource policies. [42]

234. The low levels of union representation in the small business sector is not assisted by the current exclusion for firms employing fewer than 20 workers from statutory recognition rights. Research by Ewing and Hock [43] revealed that in the UK, 22.3% of the people employed are employed in businesses employing less than 20 employees. As a result more than a fifth of the labour force is denied the right to trade union recognition and representation unless their employer agrees. Ewing and Hock argue that the small firm exclusion disproportionately impacts on women. 44.5% of males work in workplaces with less than 50 employees, 52.5% of females are so employed. Women also tend to be disproportionately employed in small forms within low paying sectors. In the health and social work sector the number of employees in small businesses is 16.2% but the number of female employees is 83.1%. In retail trade the number of employees in small businesses is 23.9% but the number of female employees is 66.8%.

235. It is widely recognised that there is a strong correlation between the level of collective bargaining coverage and the gender pay gap. As one leading commentator has remarked, ‘the gender pay gap . . . in any particular country [is] affected by the degree of collective bargaining coverage within that country’ [44] .

236. The exclusion of small firms from statutory recognition legislation must necessarily have a negative impact on the use of best practice within workplaces as well as the levels of unequal pay. The legislation on statutory union recognition should be extended to cover all firms regardless of size.

Summary of Recommendations

i) The TUC recommends that the Government set challenging but achievable targets for closing the gender pay gap, based on the growing body of evidence on what is causing it.

ii) More radical action needs to be taken to close the current ‘opportunity gap’ between women and men.

iii) In addition, the Learning and Skills Council should provide clearer information on the numbers of males and females who are starting and completing Modern Apprenticeships, the pay that they receive during the apprenticeship period, and where possible, if they go on to paid work as a result of their apprenticeship.

iv) It is important that Government economic indicators reflect both the gendered productivity gap and the relative high proportion of women working part-time in the UK.

v) The Government must explore ways of working with employers and trade unions to ensure that women - especially those clustered in low paid jobs with little opportunity for improving their skills - are supported (through finance and time) in their efforts to gain qualifications at NVQ Level 3 and above, or equivalent.

vi) The TUC believes that one such intervention must be both a strengthening of the current law governing the right to request flexible working for parents of children aged 5 and under; but also an expansion of that right to request to all employees.

vii) It is the TUC’s view that Regional Development Agencies should be addressing occupational segregation within their region, using the data that is already available and developing their own as necessary. As part of the ‘action plans’, RDAs should establish targets - with equality indicators or benchmarks attached - in order to overcome skills shortages and address occupational segregation.

viii) New EU Directives should be implemented fully, complete with new rights for including social, employment and other provisions as part of the public contracting process. Submissions have been made by the TUC in response to the Office of Government Commerce Sustainable Procurement Group’s Joint Note on Social Purchasing, by the TUC and GMB. There is no reason why the same principle should not apply to gender equality. This would be a legitimate social aim, as long as it is mentioned in the tender documents, since it does not discriminate against bidders from overseas. The TUC believes that both the new Directives and relevant case law support our view that it is legal for contracting authorities to take account of social considerations when awarding contracts. Given the EU Treaty commitment to promote equality between men and women, we believe that gender equality should be one such social consideration and we urge that this is enacted in the legislation transposing the new Directives into UK law.

ix) The TUC believes that equality should form part of the core curriculum in schools and this should include an emphasis on challenging stereotypes. Work-experience should actively encourage take-up in non-traditional areas for both sexes. Careers advice and guidance must also be high quality and offer objective information and support that are free from gender bias and stereotyping.

x) As part of this, schools and educational institutions must be supported more widely through partnerships between the Connexions service, careers advisors, regional bodies and local Learning and Skills Councils. The TUC also believes that trade unions have a vital role to play here through, for example, Union Learning Representatives who can support teachers and educationalists in these matters.

xi) The TUC believes that a right to paid time off to train for all workers, particularly up to NVQ level 2 is important in order to reach those employers that refuse to train their workers.

xii) The TUC hopes that the Commission will recognise the value of statutory rights for collective bargaining over training, and call upon the Government to implement this legislative change.

xiii) The TUC would encourage the Commission to assess the recommendations of the Tomlinson Report when it is published in relation to stereotyping and occupational segregation.

xiv) The TUC supports mandatory pay audits as a means of tackling the discrimination element of the gender pay gap and has called for the Government to implement these for a number of years - it is our belief that several of the problems identified in the above case studies would also be eliminated if pay reviews were made mandatory. In its submission to the EOC’s Task force on equal pay, the TUC recommended that employers should be placed under a duty to monitor their workforce and review their pay systems by gender, ethnic origin and disability, as well as to adopt equal pay policies. The TUC further recommended that Trade unions should have enforceable rights to be involved in this process, and that employers should be under a legal obligation to publish information about the progress and outcomes of workforce monitoring, pay reviews and equal pay policies.

xv) Costly litigation is not the way to deal with the undervaluation of women’s work and urges the Commission to recommend that the Government ensure that all public and private sector employers implement equal value principles in their pay structures. The TUC believes that the issue of cost should not be dodged - fair remuneration of currently undervalued work will cost employers money.

xvi) The Regulations to be made under the Equality Bill (which will introduce the new Commission on Equality and Human Rights) introducing a public sector duty to promote gender equality should impose specific duties on public sector employers regarding equal pay issues including a duty to review and monitor.

xvii) Legislation should also be introduced to allow for trade unions and the CEHR to bring equal pay claims on behalf of groups of workers. Equal pay legislation should allow for the possibility of a hypothetical comparator, as required by the Equal Treatment Amendment Directive to be implemented in the UK by October 2005.

xviii) The Government must ensure that organisations such as the EOC (to become integrated into the Commission for Equality and Human Rights) and ACAS are properly funded to provide such assistance.

xix) The TUC believes that unless the Government funds fair remuneration in public sector jobs, especially social care, there will serious recruitment and retention problems in services which have increasing social importance.

xx) The TUC urges the Women and Work Commission to highlight the importance of adequate funding to implement equal pay for work of equal value across the public sector.

xxi) The TUC believes that good quality flexible work can make an important contribution to enabling women to maintain their earning potential.

xxii) There should be statutory support for collective bargaining on equality following an award of recognition under the processes introduced in the 1999 Employment Relations Act.

xxiii) It is proposed that statutory rights should be introduced for union equality representatives based on the existing rights for union representatives but using the duties and activities set out in paragraph 5.87 above.

xxiv) The legislation on statutory union recognition should be extended to cover all firms regardless of size.

[1] Facts about women and men in Great Britain 2004, Equal Opportunities Commission, 2005, p.8

[2] See in particular Women’s Incomes over the Lifetime, ed. Dr Katherine Rake, Women and Equality Unit, 2000; The impact of women’s position in the labour market on pay and implications for UK productivity, Professor Sylvia Walby and Dr Wendy Olsen, Women and Equality Unit, 2002; Towards a Closing of the Gender Pay Gap: United Kingdom Country Report, Women and Equality Unit, February 2003

[3] Plugging Britain’s skills gap: challenging gender segregation in training and work EOC, May 2004

[4] Stability and steady growth for Britain, HM Treasury, 1999

[5] Devolving decision making HM Treasury, 2003

[6] Facing the challenge, November 2004.

[7] The impact of women’s position in the labour market on pay and implications for UK productivity, Professor Sylvia Walby and Dr Wendy Olsen, Women and Equality Unit, DTI, December 2002

[8] Walby and Olsen p. 24

[9] Walby and Olsen, p.76.

[10] Walby and Olsen, p.10

[11] The Part Time Pay Penalty Alan Manning and Barbara Petrongolo, Women and Equality Unit, DTI, 2004 p. 6

[12] Walby and Olsen p.69

[13] Walby and Olsen, p.71

[14] Walby and Olsen, p. 36

[15] European Labour Force Survey, 2003.

[16] Walby and Olsen, p.10

[17] Manning and Petrongolo, p. 6

[18] Occupational segregation, gender gaps and skills gaps, Institute for Employment Studies for the EOC, 2004

[19] Education and training statistics for the United Kingdom , Department for Education and Skills, 2003

[20] GCE/VCE A/As Examination Results For Young People In England, 2003/04 (Revised), DfES, 12 January 2005

[21] Plugging Britain’s Skills Gap: challenging gender segregation in training and work Report of phase one of the EOC’s investigation into gender segregation and Modern Apprenticeships, Equal Opportunities Commission, 2004

[22] Occupational segregation, gender gaps and skills gaps, Institute for Employment Studies for the EOC, 2004.

[23] Monitoring Progress on Equal Pay Reviews, Equal Opportunities Commission, Spring 2004

[24] These are published in Equal Pay Pilot Project: Final Report-Phase 2, TUC, September 2003

[25] Monitoring progress on equal pay reviews EOC, Spring 2004

[26] Wales TUC Equal Pay Project report May 2004-Jan 2005 Karen Cole, Wales TUC.

[27] European Structure of Earnings Survey (SES) 1995

[28] Women’s Incomes Over a Lifetime, Cabinet Office Women’s Unit, 2000

[29] Equal Pay: a Practical Guide to the Law, Leslie, Hastings and Morris, Law Society 2003

[30] The Gender Pay Gap: a research review, Grimshaw and Rubery, EOC 2001

[31] A Question of Earnings: a study of the earnings of blue-collar employees in London local authorities; London Equal Value Steering Group, 1987

[32] New Earnings Survey, 2000

[33] ditto

[34] NATFHE report 2000

[35] Lissenburgh; Value for Money: the costs and benefits of giving part-time workers equal rights; report for the TUC 1996

[36] Institute for Employment Research, 2001

[37] Managing to Change: British Workplaces and the Future of Work, White et al, 2004

[38] Labour Force Survey data, autumn 2003.

[39] Trade Union Recognition in Small Enterprises, K D Ewing and Anne Hock,

[40] Findings from the 1998 Survey of Employment Tribunal Applications Department of Trade and Industry, (2002)

[41] Ibid.

[42] Industrial Relations and SMEs: The UK; P K Edwards and M W Gilman, (Eiro, nd)

[43] Trade Union Recognition in Small Enterprises K D Ewing and Anne Hock, Trade Union Recognition in Small Enterprises

[44] Just Wages for Women A McColgan, (Oxford University Press, 1997)