‘Equal pay is still 100 years away’: unions warn of labor rights stagnation

Bridging the gender pay gap in Europe could take a century as women’s labor rights face stagnation or even pullbacks in some countries, according to a cross-country trade unions’ association.

"At this pace, it could take us 100 years to achieve the full equality between men and women, especially salary-wise,” says Montserrat Mir, a spokesperson for the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

Comprising of 90 trade unions in 38 countries, ETUC demands penalization at the European level of countries and companies that don’t comply with pay-gap legislation.

“Women continue to get paid less than a man for the same job, which is not legal, nor European, nor democratic,” said Mir.

The ETUC includes CCOO, one of Spain’s two largest trade unions. A report by its Catalan branch found that women earn 23.4% less than men for the same job, with pensions falling by 37% in comparison with men.

The ‘Women’s Life and Work Conditions’ report also found that female workers take 93% of unpaid leaves in order to look after children, and 84% to take care of relatives.