Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-05-24-Speech-4-016-000"
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"en.20120524.5.4-016-000"2
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"Madam President, we must also promote the principle of gender equality on the labour market. According to the latest statistics, the pay gap between men and women averages 16.4%, although it cannot be said generally that men earn more than women. It is a highly complex topic, with numerous underlying causes and reasons.
Ms Bauer’s report has sent out a very good signal here. The multifaceted and multi-layered approach of Member States to this issue is important. A legislative amendment may be an important component, but experience shows that this step is not enough by itself. We must continue to pay attention to this issue, and change the deeply engrained attitudes to the question of pay, for example.
I welcome the existence of pilot projects, for example, which are good instruments for creating enhanced transparency and monitoring. It is true that this problem cannot be properly grasped without reliable statistics. We need statistical data and we need to evaluate the differences between sectors and various other factors. We must also take account of the business activities of individual firms. Imposing sanctions on firms that are not really performing well economically is, in my view, counterproductive. It is also not possible to impose sanctions on firms until we have clear rules for measuring jobs that are equal and of the same value, and until we can compare these jobs. I see the good intentions behind the development of instruments that will evaluate work objectively and thus render it comparable, but can we really find such instruments? I am rather sceptical about this, and I think it is very difficult.
A tabular evaluation based on valid classifications may be applied in the public sector, but it will be hard to dictate to private firms. When setting levels of pay and remuneration, businesses also take account of the individual contribution of each employee. We must not overlook the individual abilities and accomplishments of each employee, which cannot be measured objectively, but which currently play a substantial role in the selection of candidates and the level of their pay.
Perhaps we should focus more on aspects that create the same working conditions and preconditions for women. I would like to say that one of the main problems and causes of differences in pay is that women interrupt their careers or reduce their working hours due to the need to balance family life and child care, or professional life and child care. I am therefore pleased that this issue has become a major debate, because it enables us to draw attention to other pressing issues and aspects of these issues. I would like to thank the rapporteur for her efforts, and everyone else for their contribution. I look forward to the Commission’s assessment."@en1
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