CLOSE THE GENDER PAY GAP

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march 2023 :: RMTnews 13 and Girls centre, People's Assembly National Secretary Laura Pidcock and RMT assistant general secretary John Leach. Huffty spoke of creating supportive spaces for women of all backgrounds and bring communities together across racial and geographical lines. "Everything we do comes from the express needs of our local community. Where we are based is the most diverse ward in Newcastle so we families from all over the world. "Originally [in the 80s] the centre was very white, but we went knocking on doors in the local area. "We have the biggest Bengali population in Newcastle living on our doorstep asking them to come,"she said. RMT assistant general secretary John Leach said that he was there to "listen" to the concerns and priorities of women in the union. "This year has been the most vibrant and active in RMT's history and led by the rank and file which includes women members. "We have been in forefront of the fightback of our class against the onslaught of the bosses agenda". Mr Leach acknowledged the great work done by the three female NEC members currently in post but said the union must do more to increase the ratio of women representation across the RMT's structures. Closing conference Laura Pidcock from the People's Assembly praised RMT for being at the ‘vanguard’ of unions resisting the attacks on wages and living standards. She said that women in the movement not only had the pressures of union activity but often caring responsibilities as well. "Of course, there are exceptions to this experience but very often our heads are down metaphorically with what we have to do in the home and what we have to do at work. "As striking women, you also have the added pressure of wanting to change things and that takes incredible resolve,” she said. N ew TUC analysis has revealed that the day when the average woman stops working for free compared to the average man was February 23 last month. This means that the average woman in paid employment effectively works for free for nearly two months of the year compared to the average man in paid employment. In parts of the country and in some industries where the gender pay gap is wider, women effectively work for free for even longer. As a result, the TUC has called on the government to boost rights to flexible working and for a cash injection for childcare sector. The TUC analysis shows that the gender pay gap is widest for older women, so they have to wait even longer for their ‘Women’s Pay Day’. Women aged between 50 and 59 have the highest pay gap (20.8 per cent) and work the equivalent of 76 days for free, until March 16 2023. The gender pay gap widens once a woman becomes a mum and older women take a financial hit for balancing work alongside caring for older relatives as well as children and grandchildren, according to the TUC. Despite the introduction of gender pay gap reporting back in 2017, TUC analysis reveals that there were still big gender pay gaps in many industries. Even in jobs that tend to be dominated by female workers like education and healthcare the gender pay gap persists. In these sectors women get paid much less per hour on average than men, both because they are more likely to be in part-time jobs or are in lower-paid roles. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said that that working women deserve equal pay but at current rates of progress it will take more than 20 years to close the gender pay gap. “That's just not good enough. We can’t consign yet another generation of women to pay inequality. “It’s clear that just publishing gender pay gaps isn’t working. Companies must be required to publish action plans to explain what steps they’ll take to close their pay gaps. And bosses who don’t comply with the law should be fined. “The pandemic highlighted that we can do more to help women balance their caring responsibilities and work. Flexible working is key to keeping mums in jobs and is our best way of closing the gender pay gap. “We should change the law so that all jobs are advertised with all the possible flexible options clearly stated. And all workers must have the legal right to work flexibly from their first day in a job.” On childcare and parental leave, Paul added: “It’s clear that the gender pay gap widens dramatically once women become mums. We need ministers to fund childcare from the end of maternity leave to support working parents – along with better wages and recognition for childcare workers. “And both parents need to be able to share responsibility for caring for their kids. Dads and partners need better rights to well-paid leave that they can take in their own right. Otherwise, mums will continue to take on the bulk of caring responsibilities – and continue to take the financial hit," he said. The overall gender pay gap is calculated using all median hourly pay, excluding overtime, for all male and female employees using the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data. CLOSE THE GENDER PAY GAP