Vol. 400 No. 6
11 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Labour when the proposed discussion document on the Anti-Discrimination (Pay) Act, 1974 and the Employment Equality Act, 1977 which was promised in the Programme for National Recovery will be published; if he will outline any plans for amendments to these pieces of legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The discussion document to which the Deputy refers was published in November 1987. It outlined possible options for improvements to the legislation and invited views on these proposals. I am at present considering proposals to amend the equality legislation. These proposals are intended to increase the effectiveness of existing legislation. My aim is to bring a Bill before the House before the end of the year.
May I ask the Minister if he is familiar with the recent research on this issue by Roisín Callender which shows that after 20 years we have managed to progress from women being on 50 per cent of average male earnings to 60 per cent or from 58 per cent to 68 per cent of the hourly earnings? Does he not agree, against that rate of performance of 10 per cent over 20 years, that there is an urgent necessity to take legislative measures in this area? May I specifically ask him if the legislation he has promised contains proposals to tackle one of the main obstacles identified, that is, the necessity to have a male comparator so that we can establish an equal pay case? Because low pay problems tend to be concentrated in all female employment one has not, by definition, got a male comparator. There is the specific recommendation that it ought to be replaced by what the hypothetical man would be earning in that situation. Will the Minister include that?
I will take the points raised by the Deputy into account. There are two aspects to this, one is legislation and the other relates to opportunities. What we have failed to do in the last 13 years in my view, and, more important, in the considered opinion of many specialists in this area, is to get sufficient women into the higher echelons of their profession, whether it is clothing or engineering. Predominantly they are in the lower grades of those jobs. Legislation will not get rid of that but something can be done under it. The advice to the Department of Labour comes from the Employment Equality Agency. I should like to remind the House of the conference held during the Irish Presidency on the difficulties that face females in the labour market following the passing of the Single European Act. Members will recall that at that well-published conference many suggestions were put forward. The points referred to by the Deputy will be looked at.
Will the Minister agree that one of the main problems in achieving equality between men and women is that it takes such a long time to measure equality in the workplace? Will the Minister agree that it is a question of the exploitation of women and that employers deliberately find ways and means of keeping women on low pay?
It is not only employers, unfortunately, and this is one of the big difficulties we have to face.
Will the Minister agree that the greatest example of positive action could be instituted in the public service and the Civil Service? I am taking into consideration that the unions involved will have to give their full support to this. We should not be paying lip service to this or expressing concern occasionally in the House. All parties should support the initiation of positive action to ensure that women participate fully in the workforce. I appeal to the unions in regard to that.
