1 April, 2010To put a stop to the underpayment of women in Germany, IG Metall calls on the federal government to introduce laws on equal pay.
GERMANY: On March 26 the International Metalworkers' Federation's German affiliate IG Metall called on the federal government to take the initiative to introduce a legal system for equal pay as a means to counteract underpayment of women at work. This call was a major feature of the actions taken on Equal Pay Day, organized the same day.
IG Metall demanded that the government create a legislative basis for equal pay, believing that such a law should require businesses to continuously monitor the equal pay situation and to make corrections whenever necessary.
Helga Schwitzer, IG Metall executive board member said that, "the effective legal basis for the enforcement of equal pay between women and men, a common practice in countries such as France, Canada and Sweden, should become possible in Germany." Schwitzer also demanded an end to continuous attempts of reducing job opportunities and earning potential of women in Germany, referring to the intention to reduce the training period to two years for office jobs such as clerks in office communication, where three-quarters of trainees are women.
On this occasion the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) collected signatures of members of works' councils, trainers, youth and education workers protesting against reduced training period and called on the federal government to prevent the threat of discrimination against women.
Equal Pay Day action was held for the third time and this year was organised by the IG Metall department for women and gender equality policy. The department also prepared a presentation providing information on the remuneration gap between women and men in Germany and giving ideas on possible union actions.