asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state Government policy on the principle of equal pay for equal work performed by men and women, and the effect of adopting the terms of the Treaty of Rome in this respect.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Principle of Equal Pay for Equal Work.
17.
In this country wage rates, in general, are determined by collective negotiations between workers' and employers' organisations. The present members of the European Economic Community have over the past few years been engaged in establishing principles for the gradual elimination of wage differentials between men and women engaged in equal work and for the determination of how the concept of "equal work" should be interpreted. Admission of this country to the EEC would necessitate harmonisation of our practices in this matter with those of the Community.