The TUC first adopted the demand for equal pay between men and women in 1888. In 1964, the incoming Labour government was committed to look at ways of implementing the ILO recommendation on equal pay for work of equal value. Finally, Barbara Castle famously secured the adoption of the Equal Pay Act, which came into force in 1975. The Equality Act 2010 which superseded it included a proactive duty on larger employers to report on their gender pay gap. Yet the wider impact of equal pay legislation has remained restricted, due to employer resistance, the complexity of the legal basis for claims, and a fair degree of policy inertia.
On the 50th anniversary of the EPA’s coming into force, with equal pay cases remaining a live issue in local government (and the first London council about to be the subject of a claim, Barnet) and retail, and as the Labour government conducts a review of equal pay law and its implementation, we will reflect on what we can learn from looking again at the history of equal pay in law and in employment relations practice.
A key question concerns the strategies of trade unions as equality actors, given the scale of the challenges in seeking redress through tribunals and engaging in job re-evaluation processes. A further question concerns the relationship between the law and employers’ labour market behaviour. Where does the balance lie between law and organisational practice?
This online seminar will hear and discuss presentations from Sally Brett, former senior equality policy officer at the TUC, and Megan Fisher, GMB organiser and leading member of its women’s campaign unit (who has been involved in the ongoing and long-running campaign for equal pay at Birmingham City Council).
All welcome– this seminar is free to attend but booking in advance is required.
