Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report in reply to its previous comments and to the comments submitted by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in 1990. It also notes that the TUC communicated further comments in December 1991, which were transmitted to the Government and that the Government intends to reply to those comments in its next report.

1. The Committee has noted with interest from the Government's report that following the ruling of the European Court of Justice on 17.5.90 in the case of Barber v. Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance Group (in which the Court ruled that benefits paid from occupational pension schemes are "pay" within the meaning of Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome) the Government has announced its commitment to achieving equal treatment for women and men in the state pension scheme as well as in occupational pension schemes, in particular, as concerns unequal pension ages. The Committee hopes that the Government will continue to provide information on the matter, including any further court rulings, and that it will indicate the decisions taken or envisaged in this direction.

2. In recent years, the Committee has noted the measures being taken by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) to review, in consultation with the Government, employers' organisations, trade unions and other interested bodies, the application of the Equal Pay Act, 1970, as amended. The Committee's observation of 1990 had noted that the EOC presented its considerations in its 1989 consultative document "Equal Pay ... Making it Work". The Committee notes that the EOC's formal proposals were submitted to the Government, in November 1990, in a document entitled "Equal Pay for Men and Women: Strengthening the Acts". The EOC has concluded in that document that "the present legislation is ineffective for dealing with pay inequalities deeply rooted, often unconsciously, in pay structures and collective agreements ..." and calls for the "establishment of a legal framework and procedures which facilitate rather than impede an individual's access to judicial determination", makes recommendations for dealing with the wider implications of individual cases and for effectively tackling sources of inequality in pay structures and collective agreements and reaffirms its previous proposal for the enactment of a single consolidated equal treatment statute.

In its comments of December 1991, the TUC has pointed to the EOC's support for the concerns previously expressed by the TUC and, in particular, the TUC's proposals that an employer's existing job evaluation study should not operate as a bar to an equal value claim, and that an equal pay award to an individual applicant should be extended to all employees in the same employment who do the same or broadly similar work. The TUC has also reiterated its concern that the complexity and lack of clarity of the present legislation result in long delays in the determination of workers' rights.

The Committee notes from the report of the Government that the TUC and the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) had the opportunity to convey their views on the EOC's proposals and that these proposals, as well as similar proposals put forward by the EOC for Northern Ireland, are under active consideration by the Government. The Committee requests the Government to indicate, in its next report, the measures taken or envisaged to respond to these proposals.

3. The Committee notes from the report of the Government that in Great Britain women's average earnings (excluding overtime) in relation to men's have continued to rise over the last four years and increased appreciably from 76 per cent in 1989 to 78.2 per cent in 1991. In Northern Ireland, women's average hourly earnings (excluding overtime) rose from 78.6 per cent of men's in 1989 to 80 per cent in 1990. The Committee requests the Government to continue to supply statistical data illustrating the evolution of the wage differential.

4. The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.