Equal pay victory

Almost 50 years ago, Ford Dagenham plant’s workers went on strike and paved the way for legislation that would ensure equal pay for women.
Despite the great strides they made, the gender pay gap still remains stubbornly high at 9.4 per cent. Women can expect to earn on average over ÂŁ200,000 less than their male counterparts over their lifetimes.
The fight for equal pay goes on, and yesterday (December 16) signalled a major step forward.
As UNITElive reported, Labour MP Sarah Champion brought forward a bill that would require companies of over 250 employees to publish information on averages wages to make transparent any existing gender pay gap.
After the bill was discussed yesterday, it was passed by an enormous margin—258 to 8.
Throwing their support behind the bill, Unite joined some of the original Ford Dagenham women (pictured after the result of the vote)  and magazine Grazia in a rally outside Parliament.
Commenting on the victory, Grazia’s editor-in-chief Jane Bruton said, “We’re absolutely delighted with the outcome of today’s vote.”
“Since Grazia launched its pay gap campaign in June, we’ve heard from countless women who are paid less than their male colleagues simply because of their gender. This is an issue we shouldn’t even be discussing in 2014,” she added.
“While the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show that the pay gap is narrowing very slightly, women are still earning only 81p for every £1 a man earns,” Bruton went on to say. “This is not a time to rest on our laurels. This change in the law that will make pay more transparent, directly benefiting women’s salaries and meaning they are no longer penalised simply for their gender.”
Dora Challingsworth, leading shop steward at Ford Dagenham, emphasised the importance of active union membership and solidarity with other women.
“You’ve got to keep fighting,” Challingsworth said. “All these years later, women are still not treated right. And I think it’s a bit harder today – we were 400-500 machinists years ago. I’m 76 and I’ve still got a fight on my hands!”
“I always say to young women – don’t be on your own,” she added. “It’s good to join a union, but make sure you get involved and go to the branch meetings. Listen and learn from the older women, and if you’ve got a problem, talk to them.
Unite assistant general secretary Diana Holland agreed, stressing the importance of trade unionism in the continued fight for equal pay.

 
“All the major equal pay cases have been supported by trade unions,” Holland said. “ At a time when gains for working women are under daily threat, as assistant general secretary in Unite I want to say loud and clear that equal pay and closing the gender pay gap are priorities for the union, and vital to women’s lives, to workplace justice and to ending family and community poverty.”
For Champion’s bill, which would implement section 78 of the Equalities Act, to go into effect, it will need the additional backing of the government, meaning an incoming Labour government in May is particularly critical if the bill is to have any teeth.
Stay tuned on UNITElive.org for the latest on the bill and the continued fight for equal pay.