Vol. 397 No. 5
28 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Labour if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the latest CSO bulletin on industrial earnings (details supplied) disclosed a difference of more than £100 in average earnings of male and female industrial workers; the steps, if any, he intends to take to ensure that this huge gap between the earnings of male and female workers is closed; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
31 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Labour if he will outline his plans for updating equality legislation in 1990; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
56 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Labour if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the gap between male and female pay rates is widening; the plans, if any, he has to reverse this trend of worsening inequality between males and females; and if he intends to amend or replace the Anti-Discrimination Pay Act in order to reverse the burden of proof as has been done with some success in certain other European countries.
70 Mr. Byrne asked the Minister for Labour when it is intended to introduce the amendments to labour legislation, particularly aimed at improving the position of women, which he promised in his address to the seminar of the Women's Political Association in Dublin in November 1988; if he will outline the amendments he has in mind; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 28, 31, 56 and 70 together.
I am aware that there is a significant imbalance between male and female earnings. Progress has been slow, if steady, and while we may draw some comfort from that, I am not satisfied that the gap is closing. Neither am I satisfied that replacing or amending the law is the only answer. The fact is that the differences in industrial earnings result from a wide range of factors. These include wage rates but, also, hours worked, overtime payments, shift or unsocial hours premia, payment by results, bonuses for output levels and payments for length of service. There is also the point that the statistics which we normally use cover only a percentage of women who are at work and relate to women in manufacturing industry where there is a tendency for women to be segregated into certain low pay areas and confined to a restricted range of jobs.
The solution to the differential in pay between men and women does not lie in equal pay legislation alone but in improved access for women to a wider range of jobs. Nevertheless, there are a number of changes which I propose to make to the provisions of the 1974 Anti-Discrimination (Pay) Act, in the context of the general review of the employment equality legislation. These changes will simplify and make more effective the procedures for the pursuit of equal pay for work of equal value.
