Ceci est une version HTML d'une pièce jointe de la demande d'accès à l'information 'Proposal for a directive on pay transparency'.



Ref. Ares(2021)3535027 - 28/05/2021
From:
To:
Subject:
EU Pay Transparency Directive
Date:
jeudi 14 mai 2020 10:23:14
To 
@ec.europa.eu
President von der Leyen
European Commission
Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200
1049 Brussels
Belgium
Dear President,
We are contacting you to raise with you the concern of the Unite Women's Transport Working
Group, representing women transport workers, about the Commission's work programme. We
understand from the ETUC that the EU Commission is considering a plan to put the EU Pay
Transparency Directive and the whole Gender Equality Strategy on ice.
We urgently ask you to reconsider. In our considered opinion, such an approach would have far
reaching consequences for the women workers in this sector.
President, we applauded you when gender equality was made the cornerstone of your
Presidency. Binding Pay Transparency was one of your first 100 days commitments. Action to
secure gender equality cannot and should not be called into question even in times of COVID-19
crisis. Equal pay is a requirement of the EU Treaty, it is not a fair-weather option.
There is a strong interconnection between the EU road to recovery plan and establishing a 'new
normal' after Covid-19; this only highlights the need for a Gender Equality Strategy upon which
we can build. Throughout the EU, key workers, in sectors where the work is predominantly
undertaken by women, are underpaid and undervalued. This needs to be tackled as part of
recovering our economies; working women should not, yet again, be put to the back of the
queue, to be dealt with after the recovery.
The announced Pay Transparency Directive must go ahead. Moreover, it must be re-framed to
tackle the root causes of inequality and recognise the value of work in this sector. Covid-19 has
highlighted how the unfair market-determined salaries of workers such as: cleaners, retail,
transport, care and healthcare workers has diverged from their real value that they provide to
society and our economy. It is long overdue for low-wage workers to secure a permanent
income boost to earn a fair wage for a fair day's work, including adequate benefits.
The Pay Transparency Directive can do this, by including provisions to assist workers and their
unions re-evaluate pay and secure increases which reflect the real value of their work to
businesses and society. Crucially, it must empower unions to bargain towards building a 'new
normal', where work that is done by women is properly valued and paid.
This crisis will mark a new beginning. We need to remember those who are working on the
frontlines, in services, care, cleaning; we can’t repeat what happened after the 2008 crisis.
Companies bounced back but at a cost to working people and gender equality.
I look forward to your positive response and we remain available to assist you in your
endeavours to secure an EU where Gender Equality is the 'norm', and a reality for all women.
Yours sincerely
Jaine Peacock
Unite UK, Women's Transport Working Group & Unite Representative on ETF Women's
Committee