§ John BarrettTo ask the Minister for Women what action she has taken to support women to challenge pay discrimination in the workplace; and if she will make a statement. [142610]
§ Ms HewittThe Government is taking action to make it easier for women who have been discriminated against to take up equal pay cases with their employers. This includes the introduction of a questionnaire procedure that will help resolve matters in the workplace and measures to simplify and speed up equal pay tribunal1040W procedures. The equal pay questionnaire came into effect on 6 April 2003 and enables individuals to request key information from their employers right at the start when they are deciding whether to bring a case. The frequent lack of transparency on pay has helped perpetuate the gender pay gap. The questionnaire will help individuals, often women, to establish whether they actually are being paid less than their comparators and, if so, why. Establishing the key facts quickly could encourage the issues to be settled without resort to tribunal, benefiting both employers and employees. We are looking at further ways to speed up and simplify complex equal value cases and will be consulting on proposals shortly. The Government also believes that carrying out an equal pay review should be good business practice for every employer and has developed a number of initiatives to help them, including funding the Equal Opportunities Commission to develop equal pay tool kits.
§ John BarrettTo ask the Minister for Women what discussions she has had with trade unions regarding the formulation of a development plan to tackle gender pay discrimination in the workplace. [142611]
§ Ms HewittAs a Government, we are committed to working in partnership with the trade union movement and others to tackle the barriers facing women in the workplace and reduce the gender pay gap. We provided additional funding of £151,867 (on top of an initial £145,000) to trade unions, for training representatives in equal pay issues in the workplace. The trade unions were fully consulted on the pay reviews of Civil Service Departments and supported the comprehensive guidance issued by the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office continues to have an open dialogue with the trades unions on progress across the Civil Service. We have a target that the Government will work with businesses and trade unions, the Equal Opportunities Commission and Opportunity Now towards ensuring that 35 per cent of large organisations have done pay reviews by 2006. We have provided the EOC with funds to take a sectoral approach to promoting equal pay reviews. We are also promoting pay reviews through the 1041W Castle Awards, now incorporated in the 100 Best Companies To Work For, to recognise steps taken by employers of all sizes and in all sectors to promote equality of opportunity between men and women and to address the issues of pay inequality.