Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Equal pay for equal work Bangladesh'

The notion of Decent Work has been broadly advocated since 1999 by means of various International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions. Through these Conventions and as part of its Decent Work Agenda, the ILO strives to foster the creation of social and economic systems, capable of ensuring basic security and employment and adaptable to rapidly changing local and global economic circumstances. The Decent Work Agenda has been widely accepted as an important strategy to eradicate poverty and enable socio-economic development. It is submitted that the concept of Decent Work as contemplated by the ILO, firstly focuses on the payment of an income, which allows the working individual a good life. It secondly strives to ensure that everybody has an equal chance to develop themselves; that working conditions are safe; that there is no instance of child and forced labour; and that discrimination does not occur. The elimination of discrimination in the workplace is not only an ever-evolving pursuit, given that it continues to manifest in innumerable forms, but it has also proven to be an extremely pervasive pursuit as evidenced by the jurisdiction-specific literature review in this study. The jurisdictions focused on in this study are the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Australia. This study concerns itself with pay-related discrimination which strains ILO Conventions No 100 and 111. Convention 100 focuses on equal pay for equal work and Convention No 111 focuses on the elimination of all forms of discrimination in the workplace. In spite of extensive legislative developments in the various jurisdictions which form part of this study, enhanced by the creation of various practical mechanisms to enable the elimination of pay-related discrimination, the stubborn problem of discriminatory pay practices has survived structured and deliberate attempts to get rid of it. In South Africa, the amendment to section 6(4) of the Employment Equity Act, assented on 1 August 2014, specifically describes a difference in conditions of employment between employees of the same employer performing the same or substantially the same work or work of equal value based on any one or more of the grounds listed in section 6(1), as unfair discrimination. This amendment therefore seeks to prohibit such unfair discriminatory practices. Based on the newness of this amendment and the fact that courts have not yet delivered judgments arising from litigation related to this particular amendment, a sense of uncertainty exists with respect to the adequacy of the amended section 6 in the Employment Equity Amendment Act. If progress in the other jurisdictions in this regard is anything to go by, there is no reason to believe that the amendment to section 6 will be a panacea capable of addressing all alleged discriminatory pay practices.

Bridging the gender wage gap-South African history on women and the disadvantages suffered-South African legislation governing discrimination-international instruments governing equal pay between genders-international instruments on how to bridge the gender wage gap-consider international instruments in South Africa to bridge the gender wage gap
Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2019.
Mercantile Law
LLM
Unrestricted

This paper compared the South African concepts of pay equity and equal pay for work of equal value with those of industrialised countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. The study considered how South Africa recognized the right to promote equal pay, in the absence of a proper legal framework which expressly includes such a right. The paper also focused on the impact of statutes and case law on the developments of equal pay in the aforementioned industrialized countries. It also considered the impact of the decisions of the European Court of Justice on such developments as well as it impact on the interpretation of equal pay in these industrialised countries. The purpose of such comparison was not to transplant the legal system of these industrialised countries but to assist South Africa in remedying its weaknesses by creating legal rules for the promotion of equal pay for work of equal value.

This is an interdisciplinary thesis in women's and gender studies combining legal analysis with archival research. It traverses Australian women's struggle for equal pay and pay equity from the end of the nineteenth century to the beginnings of the twenty-first. It recounts and analyses women's activism through campaigns targeting state and federal politicians, prime ministers, premiers and state and federal ministers for labour and industrial relations; engagement in the industrial arena; and through women's organisations and work with the trade union movement. The thesis analyses achievements and setbacks through the federal industrial arena, and references, too, major state industrial cases and legislation. It analyses women's intervention and impact in the Equal Pay, Minimum Wage, Basic Wage and National Wage Cases. Through archives, original letters, articles, pamphlets, books, interviews and other sources, the thesis recounts women's agreements and disagreements on how the struggle would be won, and the solid campaigning in which women engaged from the late years of the nineteenth century, through every decade of the twentieth, and in the first years of the first decade of the twenty-first century. It covers a span of over one hundred years, during which the claim was characterised as one for equal pay, the rate for the job and, more recently, pay equity. Looking at the past and the present, the thesis concludes that women's direct engagement with the industrial system and parallel working within women's organisations and trade unions has been central to gains in equal pay and pay equity. Apart from women's and men's earnings in Scandinavia, relativities between women's and men's wages and salaries in Australia have been -- despite the disparity - the most approximate of all OECD countries. The thesis posits that it is only with a return to centralised wage fixing, with women's organisations intervening and bringing their own experts to educate industrial commissions, employers and unions, that the value of women's work will be recognised as equal to the value of men's work, and equal pay, the rate for the job, or pay equity will be achieved.

The consolidation of 22 years of democracy and 20 years of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa entrenched the need to eradicate social and economic inequalities, particularly those that stem from our history of colonialism, apartheid and patriarchy, which brought pain and suffering to the great majority of our people, in particular Black people. Therefore, the passing of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Constitution)1 20 years ago, marked a turning point in our history by giving expression firstly, to the Freedom Charter and secondly, by upholding the values of human dignity, equality, freedom and social justice in a united, non-racial and nonsexist society where every South African may flourish. However, despite the fact that the Bill of Rights in the Constitution provides that everyone is equal before the law and that equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedom, discriminatory practices, in particular, pay inequalities, are still rife in our country. It is against this backdrop that the historical background of the employment discrimination law in South Africa, which over a period of time, contributed significantly to the high levels of inequalities in pay experienced by the previously disadvantaged groups, such as Black people, women and people with disabilities becomes critical. This aspect points to the importance of understanding the context within which the principle of “Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value” has been and should be implemented in South Africa compared to Canada. Therefore, drawing from the review of the legislation and the implementation processes of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, the following best practices/ lessons learned were identified: 108 of 1996. The Canadian Ontario Pay Equity Act states that the value of job classes be based on factors such as skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions. This Act also requires the employer to take proactive steps to institute a jobevaluation scheme, and the participation of the social partners and the affected workers is crucial. It is submitted that there are similarities in these requirements with those contained in the Employment Equity Regulations, 2014, which implies that the South African legislative framework draws on this best practice. The Ontario Employment Standards Act allows the comparison to be drawn with the establishment of the same employer in the same municipality, as well as with establishments to which a worker can be transferred. In this regard, it is observed that the new provisions on equal pay in section 6(4) of the Employment Equity Amendment Act, 2013, limits only the comparison with the employees of the “same employer” without elaborating further into the same municipality or with establishments to which a worker can be transferred. Under Ontario Pay Equity Act, even if there is no precise comparator in the establishment doing work of equal value, the employer must ensure that the worker’s pay is proportionate to others doing work of proportionate value. In the context of South African legislation, a comparison on the basis of proportionate value is not catered for. The meaning of “work of equal value” refers to the work that is the same (identical or interchangeable), substantially the same (sufficiently similar), or of equal value (accorded the same value) when compared to an appropriate comparator. In justifying equal pay, the Ontario statute provides that formal seniority systems and performance-related pay can justify unequal pay only if they do not discriminate on the grounds of gender. This is similar to the South African statute, in particular, regulation 7 of the Employment Equity Regulations, 2014, which include seniority and performance as some of the factors that may justify unequal pay only if they do not unfairly discriminate on one or combination of the listed grounds, and on any other arbitrary ground as prescribed by section 6(1) of the EEA as amended. As per the Ontario legislation, the employer cannot reduce the rate of remuneration in order to comply with the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. Similarly, in the South African legislation, in particular, regulation 7 of the Employment Equity Regulations, 2014, it prevents levelling down of pay in instances of demotions and in transfer of contracts (section 197 of the LRA). There is a requirement in terms of the Ontario Pay Equity Act, that employers must establish and maintain pay equity in their establishment in consultation with the bargaining agent (trade unions); and after the agreement, post a Pay Equity Plan in its workplace. In terms of South African legislation, the EEA does not have a requirement for a Pay Equity Plan, however, designated employers (those required to comply with Chapter III of the EEA) are required in terms of sections 19(1) and 20 of the EEA to conduct a review of their workplace policies, practices and procedures, inclusive of remuneration and benefits; and develop and implement affirmative-action measures to address any unfair discrimination practices by including these measures in their Employment Equity Plans. Furthermore, in terms of section 27 of the EEA, designated employers are then required to submit their annual Income Differential Statements to the Employment Conditions Commission (ECC) on the remuneration and benefits received in each occupational level of that employer’s workforce. In relation to dealing with pay-equity disputes, the Ontario Pay Equity Act, establishes a Pay Equity Commission, which consists of a Pay Equity Office, inclusive of Review Officers and the Hearings Tribunal that are mandated to specifically enforce the equal-pay-for-work-of-equal-value principle. Contrary, in South Africa, the legislation does not cater for the establishment of a Pay Equity Commission with exclusive mandate to deal with pay-equity cases. In this regard, the various courts and the CCMA which are mandated to deal with equal-pay disputes are also mandated to deal with other labour disputes emanating from other labour legislation, e.g. the LRA, BCEA, EEA, UIA, OHSA, COIDA, etc. The Review Officers in the Pay Equity Office in Ontario are mandated to monitor the implementation and maintenance of the Pay Equity Plans as per section 34 of the Pay Equity Act in Ontario. In South Africa, the EEA makes provision for DG Review process in terms of section 43, where the DG of Labour can subject any organization for a review to assess its compliance with the requirements of the EEA as whole, and not specifically to assess the implementation of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. Notably, assessment of income differentials to promote equal pay may form part of the DG review process. In light of the above best practices / lessons learned, the following recommendations are made to inform the improvement plans of the implementation of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value in the South African labour market: Conducting of continuous advocacy campaigns to raise awareness and educate all stakeholders, i.e. employers, employees and trade unions on the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. Development of further policy guidelines in relation to equal pay consultations within the workplace between the employer and the employees, including where applicable registered trade unions. A policy directive on the “equal-pay consultation” will promote not only transparency around pay and benefit structures, but will encourage proactive measures from employers to develop pay/remuneration policies, including establishing remuneration committees; conducting job evaluations; implementing job-grading systems and performance-evaluation systems to promote the implementation of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. 2 SS 115(4) and 158(1)(j) of 66 of 1995. Minimum wage-setting bodies should have the duty to apply the principle of equal pay for work of equal value in the setting of minimum wages. Collective bargaining structures such as bargaining councils should have a duty to apply and enforce the principle of equal pay for work of equal value in the wage-negotiation process and conclusion of collective agreements. Given the importance of collective bargaining in wage-setting in South Africa, there should be a duty on the social partners to include the principle of equal pay for work of equal value in all collective agreements. Industry-wide comparisons should be utilized, particularly in sectors in which collective bargaining operates at a sectoral level. Alternatively, the “Proxy” method as developed in Ontario, should be considered. Proportionate pay, as developed in Ontario, should be considered in cases where there is no comparator doing work of equal value, employed by the same employer. Possible legislative amendments to section 27 of the EEA to include a new provision, requiring employers to develop and implement a Pay Equity Plan outlining how they intend complying with the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. Then an annual progress report must be submitted to the Director General of Labour on how the Pay Equity Plan has been implemented instead of the current submission of an Income Differential Statement to the ECC. Finally, compliance with the principle of equal pay for work of equal value is required as a condition for accessing State Contracts under section 53 of the EEA when this section is promulgated in the near future. It can be deduced from the review process that the principle of equal pay for work of equal is a complex and specialized area. However, it was also clear that in both South Africa and Canada, the issue of equal pay is seen, not only as a workplace issue, but as an important Constitutional fundamental human-right imperative to the achievement of equality in a society as a whole.

Gregory (2003) demonstrated that for the past thirty-five years small steps of progress have been made towards women's equality. However, he stated that sex discrimination is still blatant, subtle and covert and it continues to plague working women. He continued to argue that nearly all the population of women in the U.S. encounter obstacles in job advancement, whether the obstacles are glass or cement ceilings or ordinary brick walls. (p.5). The researcher will attempt to elaborate on disparate treatment women have endured for generations. With the current pay scale between women and men, women receive 23 cents less than their male colleagues out of every dollar earned. Because this system exist, it impedes a woman's holistic growth and functionality. For example, there are some women who are trapped in abusive relationships but cannot leave because they lack adequate financial resources.

Gregory (2003) pointed out that employer retaliation comes in various forms, although employers tend to favor discharge over other options. (p.162). He also stated that other forms of retaliation employers use to punish their employees for having engaged in protected activities include denials of promotion and demotions (p.163). The fear of retaliation prevents a woman from reporting the perpetrator. In addition, some of the political realm is working night and day against the improvement and progress of the women's population. With the above argument made about the disparate treatments towards women, the researcher will apply the qualitative method in this thesis to breakdown problems women face. Plus, the researcher makes suggestions how the nation can be involved in resolving and eliminating these issues, individually and collectively, to moving women's rights and progress forward and permanently.

Thesis (MTech (Public Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
Since the merger, changes occurred within CPUT and within its salary structure as a whole. Measures had to be taken in order to harmonise the two salary structures to produce a single in order to eliminate disparities and as to ensures equity among the different categories of employees and their respective levels of appointment. When the researcher discovered that there were disparities within our merged systems, the researcher decided to do a researcher concerning disparities with the new merged salary structure. When most of the employees also discovered that some of their counterparts in other campuses were on a higher salary grade than them, they felt disgruntled. This was understandable as the two campuses had different salary structures inherent from the previous technikons. The researcher was done as employees’ salaries might affect productivity and their tenure with the organisation. When there are disparities it must not be taken for granted as it is the desire need to be fairly treated by the organisation, making development in the salary programme as it is very important for the human resource department.

This socio-legal research considers the issue of women's low pay and the structure of equal pay law. It concerns how the social justice goal of equal pay is translated into enforceable non-discrimination standards in international, European and domestic law. The focus is paid care work as an exemplar of contemporary pay discrimination in Britain. The research takes three approaches. Firstly, to apply Nancy Fraser's social justice schema of recognition, redistribution and representation to the issue of women's low pay. Secondly, to subject the current framework of equal pay law to critique in relation to low-waged work. Thirdly, to interview care workers and analyse their experiential account of pay injustice in a reproductive industry. The research finds that equal pay law does not address injustices of sex-based pay which are particular to low-waged work, and that the experiential account of sex-based pay is discordant with legal conceptions of pay discrimination. It is argued that equal pay law is, in Fraser's terms, ' misframed '. The thesis presents women's lower pay as an injustice interpreted through two distinct 'grammars' ; a legal grammar of discrimination and an experiential grammar of disconnection. Pay discrimination is currently understood as a conditional injustice in which comparative discrimination names the conditions of sex-based pay. Research data suggests that low pay in reproductive industries fragments women's participation as peers within the economy of paid employment. An injustice of disconnection is itself a discrimination of sex-based low pay. The thesis advocates for broadening a vocabulary of discrimination as an endeavour with twin merit. Firstly, it might enable care workers to place their experience of pay injustice on a spectrum of sex-based legal entitlement. Secondly, it would provide a platform for reform of equal pay law, of benefit to a critical mass of women, and in the interests of social justice.

This research attempts to identify factors that influence wage and gender-related wage differentials across organizations. Specifically, the purpose was to investigate the role of ability to pay, willingness to pay, and organizational characteristics in wage determination and the development of gender-related wage differentials at the organizational level. The sample chosen for the study included 160 doctoral-granting, public universities across the United States. Average wages at three levels of full, associate and assistant professor ranks were examined. Results of the study indicate that ability to pay and willingness have a significant positive impact on wages across organizations. The organizational characteristics of size, geographic location and unionization also have a significant impact on wage determination. Results also indicate that even after accounting for the influence of ability and willingness to pay and organizational characteristics on wages, the percentage of women in the organization still has a significant negative effect on wages at all ranks, and on the wages of both men and women. Findings further suggest that there is a significant differential between the average wages of men and women both within and across the universities that is not accounted for by the structural characteristics of the organization.
Ph. D.

Research on reward allocations has consistently found differences in the manner in which men and women allocate rewards between themselves and others (Kahn, O'Leary, Krulewitz, & Lamm, 1980; Major & Adams, 1984; Major & Deaux, 1982). Overall, the research seems to suggest that when asked to divide a reward between themselves and a partner, men tend to use the equity norm to allocate rewards; whereas, women tend to use the equality norm to allocate rewards. However, a number of studies have been conducted which seem to demonstrate that a variety of situational g factors mediate the gender of allocator effects such as input level of the allocator and his/her co-workers, gender of the co-worker, expectancy of future interaction with the co-worker, and type of reward allocation. The purpose of the present research was two-fold: (1) to examine individual differences influencing an allocator's choice of an allocation strategy, such as how anticipation of future interaction with the recipients of an allocation decision would influence an allocator's reward allocation; and (2) whether a person‘s self-esteem level might impact on how an individual might allocate a reward. In general, the results of the current research suggest that previously observed differences between men's and women's allocations may not reflect true underlying differences between the gender; in terms of their preferences for allocation strategies. Allocation strategies appeared to vary as a function of the gender and input levels of the recipients of the reward and whether the type of allocation decision was a joint or independent situation. Both men and women tended to allocate rewards either equitably or using a compromise between equity and equality. Self-esteem was also found to influence the amount of the reward men and women allocated to the high performer and to themselves. Unfortunately, disclosure of allocation was not found to have a major effect upon how subjects allocated rewards. Several alternative explanations for these results are discussed.
Ph. D.

The use of various types of individualized pay setting has increased dramatically in Sweden. In order for individualized pay to work as an incentive, the pay system has to be perceived as fair. This thesis focuses on the various subjective perceptions that arise in relation to individualized pay setting, since such perceptions may have consequences for employee attitudes and behavior. Using survey data from Swedish human service workers (Study I and II) as well as other public employees (Study III), the general aim was to shed more light on employees’ pay attitudes and fairness perceptions in connection with individualized pay setting. Study I examined some of the explanatory factors behind employee pay attitudes. The results showed that perceiving a clear connection between work results and pay, and perceiving a sound working climate, were both related to more positive attitudes towards the pay distribution process. Study II examined factors potentially associated with pay-related justice perceptions. The results demonstrated that perceptions of having sufficient feedback, proper information on pay criteria, gender equality, and lower workloads were connected with more favorable views of pay justice. Pay justice perceptions, in turn, appeared only to be marginally connected with employees’ work-related attitudes and behavior. Study III investigated whether women’s and men’s perceptions of the individualized pay-setting process differed. The results showed that both genders had a similar awareness of the organizational policies and goals. The women, however, reported much lower levels of pay-related gender equality than the men and perceived that men, overall, benefited more from individualized pay setting. In conclusion, employees’ perceptions of a well-functioning working climate, apparent links between work effort and pay, as well as perceived equal opportunities contribute to individualized pay systems being viewed as more fair.

Thesis (MComm)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The new set of employment equity laws call for South African organisations to justify their compensations systems. During compensation discrimination litigation, evidence is required to support arguments put before the court in order to meet the burden of proof. The similarity between foreign and domestic legal systems, suggests that the operational implications of foreign legislation will also be relevant to South Africa. This raises the debate as to the nature of fairness in the compensation context, the debate of comparable worth and the use of multiple regression analysis. The organisation must present to the court evidence to show that the choice of compensable constructs, their measurement and application does not discrimination directly or indirectly based on group membership. Multiple regression analysis, a statistical method to model the compensation system, is fraught with difficulties and misunderstanding. It is nevertheless the most appropriate method to investigate compensation fairness. Comparable worth and multiple regression analysis require assessment in the South African context. The issues, which hindered the successful use of multiple regression analysis abroad, are reviewed in order to smooth its entry into South African litigation. A framework is presented based on literature and case law whereby all parties concerned can produce and evaluate such evidence
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die nuwe Anti-Diskrimineringswetgewing verlang van Suid-Afrikaanse organisasies om salarisstelsels te regverdig. Gedurende salarisdiskriminasielitigasie word bewys verlang om die bewyslas oor te dra. Die gelyksoortigheid van buitelandse en binnelandse regstelsels gee te kenne dat die operatiewe implikasies van buitelandse wetgewing relevant tot Suid-Afrika sal wees. Dit bevraagteken die aard van billikheid in die kompensasie konteks, die debat van vergelykbare waarde en die gebruik van veelvoudige regressieontleding. Die betrokke party moet bewys aan die hof toon om te bevestig dat die keuse van vergoedingskonstruksie, sowel as die meting en toepassing daarvan, nie onregverdig diskrimineer, ten opsigte van demografiese groepe me. Veelvoudige regressieontleding 'n statistiese metode wat gebriuk kan word om die salarissisteem voor te stel. Alhoewel dit vele onduidelikhede bevat, is dit steeds die mees toepaslike metode om salarisbillikheid te ondersoek. Vergelykbare waarde en meervoudige regressieontleding is in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks geëvalueer. Die aspekte wat die sukses van die gebruik van meervoudige regressieontleding in ander lande verhinder het, is ondersoek en geëvalueer om die toekomstige toepassing daarvan in Suid-Afrika te vergemaklik. 'n Raamwerk gebaseer op literatuur en gevalle studies word voorgestel, waar al die betrokke partye sodanige bewys kan produseer en evalueer.

Préciser la notion de catégorie professionnelle est un exercice essentiel. Les enjeux sont multiples. Ils intéressent la rémunération, le temps de travail, la protection sociale complémentaire, la représentation collective, etc. La reconnaissance des catégories professionnelles, notamment au travers de la distinction des cadres et des non-cadres, participe à l’organisation de l’entreprise et contribue au respect du principe d’égalité de traitement. Cet exercice se révèle néanmoins délicat : le législateur n’a pas précisé les contours du concept de catégorie professionnelle ; la mutation des formes de travail, se traduisant parfois par une uniformisation des fonctions dans l’entreprise, modifie le paysage. Le rôle des partenaires sociaux pour apporter quelque clarté est souvent décisif
The conceptual definition of professional classifications is an essential exercise since the stakes are high. It affects wages, working hours, complementary social security, collective representation, etc. The identification of professional categories, particularly between the executive and non-executive categories, helps in the organization of companies and contributes to the application of equal treatment principle. This exercise is nevertheless delicate because the legislator has not previously provided a precise conceptual delineation of professional categories ; the changes in the forms of work, sometimes reflected by a standardization of the roles within the company, is changing the landscape. The role of social partners is often critical in providing some clarification

Diploma thesis is focused on understanding the causes of gender pay gap, especially in connection with parenthood and related differences between male and female qualification- and career development and their respective time schedule. Using statistical methods and software instruments Statgraphics and Microsoft Excel the thesis attempts to describe the influence of parenthood and other significant factors such as age, education, occupational status or work field on economic activity and total personal income with respect to gender pay gap.

La présente étude vise à démontrer que le principe d'égalité de traitement des salariés, émanation de la jurisprudence de la chambre sociale de la Cour de cassation, est inexistant des textes internes lesquelles instituent des règles d'égalité de natures très différentes faisant ressortir toute l'originalité conceptuelle du principe d'égalité de traitement des salariés. La force donnée à ce principe par la jurisprudence de la chambre sociale de la Cour de cassation trouve ses limites, voire ses contradictions dans les évolutions récentes de son régime juridique dont les fondements sont tout aussi discutables que l'extension du principe lui-même
The present study aims to demonstrate that the principle of equal treatment of employees, as consecrated by the case law of the social chamber of the Court of Cassation, is absent from internal texts, which establish rules of equality of treatment of different natures, illustrating the originality of the principle of equality of treatment of employees. The strength given to that principle by the case law of the social chamber of the Court of Cassation finds its limits, even its contradictions in recent developments of its legal regime, whose foundations are as questionable as the extension of the principle itself

In the first chapter of this thesis, we investigate the impact of human capital and wage structure on the gender pay in a panel of European countries using a newly available and appropriate database for cross-country comparisons and a comparable methodology for each country.

Our first question is :What role do certain individual characteristics and choices of working men and women play in shaping the cross-country differences in the gender pay gap? What is the exact size of the gender pay gap using the “more appropriate” database available for our purpose? Giving that there are mainly only two harmonized data-sets for comparing gender pay gap throughout Europe: the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) and the European Structure of Earning Survey (ESES). Each database having its shortages: the main weakness of the ECHP is the lack of perfect reliability of the data in general and of wages in particular. However the main advantage of this database is the panel-data dimension and the information on both households and individuals. The data of the ESES is, on the contrary, of a very high standard but it only covers the private sector and has a cross-sectional dimension. Furthermore only few countries are currently available :Denmark, Belgium, Spain, Ireland and Italy.

We use the European Structure of Earning Survey (ESES) to analyse international differences in gender pay gaps in the private sector based on a sample of five European economies: Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Italy and Spain. Using different methods, we examine how wage structures, differences in the distribution of measured characteristics and occupational segregation contribute to and explain the pattern of international differences. Furthermore, we take account of the fact that indirect discrimination may influence female occupational distributions. We find these latter factors to have a significant impact on gender wage differentials. However, the magnitude of their effect varies across countries.

In the second chapter, we analyse the persistence of the gender pay differentials over time in Europe and better test the productivity hypothesis by taking into account unobserved heterogeneity.

Our second question is :What is the evolution of the pay differential between men and women over a period of time in Europe? And what is the impact of unobserved heterogeneity?

The researcher here provides evidence on the effects of unobserved individual heterogeneity on estimated gender pay differentials. Using the European Community Household Panel (ECHP), we present a cross-country comparison of the evolution of unadjusted and adjusted gender pay gaps using both cross-section and panel-data estimation techniques. The analysed countries differ greatly with respect to labour market legislation, bargaining practices structure of earnings and female employment rates. On adjusting for unobserved heterogeneity, we find a narrowed male-female pay differential, as well as significantly different rates of return on individual characteristics. In particularly, the adjusted wage differential decreases by 7 per cent in Belgium, 14 per cent in Ireland, between 20-30 per cent Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain and of 41 per cent and 54 per cent in the UK and in Denmark respectively.

In the third chapter, we investigate causes of the gender pay gap beyond the gender differences in observed and unobserved productive characteristics or simply the sex. Explanations of the gender pay gap may be the penalty women face for having children. Obviously, the motherhood wage penalty is relevant to larger issues of gender inequality given that most women are mothers and that childrearing remains a women’s affair. Thus, any penalty associated with motherhood but not with fatherhood affects many women and as such contributes to gender inequalities as the gender pay gap. Furthermore, the motherhood wage effect may be different along the wage distribution as women with different earnings may not be equal in recognising opportunities to reconcile their mother’s and earner’s role. This brings us to our third question.

Our third question is :What is the wage effect for mothers of young children in the household? And does it vary along the wage distribution of women?

This chapter provides more insight into the effect of the presence of young children on women’s wages. We use individual data from the ECHP (1996-2001) and both a generalised linear model (GLM) and quantile regression (QR) techniques to estimate the wage penalty/bonus associated with the presence of children under the age of sixteen for mothers in ten EU Member States. We also correct for potential selection bias using the Heckman (1979) correction term in the GLM (at the mean) and a selectivity correction term in the quantile regressions. To distinguish between mothers according to their age at the time of their first birth, wage estimations are carried out, separately, for mothers who had their first child before the age of 25 (‘young mothers’) and mothers who had their first child after the age of 25 (‘old mothers’). Our results suggest that on average young mothers earn less than non-mothers while old mothers obtain a gross wage bonus in all countries. These wage differentials are mainly due to differences in human capital, occupational segregation and, to a lesser extent, sectoral segregation between mothers and non-mothers. This overall impact of labour market segregation, suggests a “crowding” explanation of the family pay gap – pay differential between mothers and non-mothers. Nevertheless, the fact that we still find significant family pay gaps in some countries after we control for all variables of our model suggests that we cannot reject the “taste-based” explanation of the family gap in these countries. Our analysis of the impact of family policies on the family pay gap across countries has shown that parental leave and childcare policies tend to decrease the pay differential between non-mothers and mothers. Cash and tax benefits, on the contrary, tend to widen this pay differential. Sample selection also affects the level of the mother pay gap at the mean and throughout the wage distribution in most countries. Furthermore, we find that in most countries inter-quantile differences in pay between mothers and non-mothers are mainly due to differences in human-capital. Differences in their occupational and sectoral segregation further shape these wage differentials along the wage distribution in the UK, Germany and Portugal in our sample of young mothers and in Spain in the sample of old mothers.

In the fourth chapter, we analyse the combined effect of motherhood and the family status on women’s wage.

Our fourth question is :Is there a lone motherhood pay gap in Europe? And does it vary along the wage distribution of mothers?

Substantial research has been devoted to the analysis of poverty and income gaps between households of different types. The effects of family status on wages have been studied to a lesser extent. In this chapter, we present a selectivity corrected quantile regression model for the lone motherhood pay gap – the differential in hourly wage between lone mothers and those with partners. We used harmonized data from the European Community Household Panel and present results for a panel of European countries. We found evidence of lone motherhood penalties and bonuses. In our analysis, most countries presented higher wage disparities at the top of the wage distribution rather than at the bottom or at the mean. Our results suggest that cross-country differences in the lone motherhood pay gap are mainly due to differences in observed and unobserved characteristics between partnered mothers and lone mothers, differences in sample selection and presence of young children in the household. We also investigated other explanations for these differences such as the availability and level of childcare arrangements, the provision of gender-balanced leave and the level of child benefits and tax incentives. As expected, we have found significant positive relationship between the pay gap between lone and partnered mothers and the childcare, take-up and cash and tax benefits policies. Therefore improving these family policies would reduce the raw pay gap observed.

Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The diploma thesis deals with the status of women in the labour market. The thesis outlines gender issues and focuses on the principle of equal opportunities for men and women, which has become largely a public issue. The thesis aims to explore two areas in the sphere of employment. The first aim is to detect differences in the status of women in the labour market regarding the level of employment equality and to identify factors that affect them. The second aim is focused on finding differences in the gender pay gap and to identify factors that determine them. The situation of women in the labour market and the wage differences is a statistical examination of data on the Czech Republic. The thesis presents a conclusive explanation of gender inequality in the labour market and the problem of harmonizing work and family life. The legislation is also presented, which represents the efforts of the state to eliminate unequal access to women. Results of the analysis made comprehensive findings of developments and current status of women in the labour market set in a European context.

This thesis is a case study of the implementation of Ontario's 1987 pay equity legislation. Ontario's pay equity legislation was very progressive and was aimed at eliminating the portion of the wage gap between men and women caused by discrimination. The legislation mandated both public and private sector employers with more than 10 employees to create pay equity plans to eliminate the discriminatory portion of the wage gap. The legislation has met with some success. However, measuring the progress of eliminating wage discrimination is difficult because the Ontario government was unwilling to impose a coercive implementation regime. Consequently, the government has little information to measure either employer compliance or the results of employer pay equity plans. Employers have few incentives to comply with the legislation and the implementing agency has insufficient financial resources to monitor compliance. Clearly this implementation regime was a delicate political balancing of the interests of business and labour and women.

The legislation relating to equal remuneration claims is an area of law which is nuanced and consequently poorly understood. It has posed an unattainable mountain for many claimants who came before the South African courts. This is as a direct result of the lack of an adequate legal framework providing for same in the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998. The case law recognises two causes of action relating to equal remuneration. The first cause of action is equal remuneration for the same/similar work. The second is equal remuneration for work of equal value. The former is easily understood by both claimants and courts but the latter is poorly understood and poses many difficulties. The aim of this dissertation is fourfold. Firstly, the problems and criticisms regarding equal remuneration claims will be briefly highlighted. Secondly, a comprehensive analysis of the current legal framework will be set out together with the inadequacies. Thirdly, an analysis of international law and the law of the United Kingdom relating to equal remuneration claims will be undertaken. Fourthly, this dissertation will conclude by proposing recommendations to rectify the inadequacies.
Mercantile Law
LL.M. (Labour law)

European legal regulation of the remuneration of women and men Abstract This thesis focuses on the legal regulation of the principle of equal pay in European law. Despite the fact that the priciples of equality of men and women are anchored in the international, regional and national laws, the actual fulfulment of the principle of equal pay in the European countries is not satisfactory. This thesis is trying to provide a systematic overview of the relevant legal regulation of the principle of equal pay on the international and European level. Within the respective legal systems, this thesis focuses on the particularity of the regulation, on the existence of controll and enforcing mechanism and on the actual aplication of the principle of equal pay through these mechanisms. The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first chapter defines the concepts essential for this thesis. In particular, it contains definitions of concepts of equality and discrimination. Furthermore, the concepts of sex, gender and diferences in remuneration are defined. The second chapter focuses on the legal regulation of equal pay as adopted by the UN. It analyses the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and the relevant treaties of the International labour organisation, including the overview...

A igualdade e a não discriminação são dois princípios fundamentais, indispensáveis na busca de uma equidade de tratamento entre mulheres e homens. Apesar de interligados, enquanto um prima pela prática de ações para o alcance desse ideal, o outro pugna pela proibição de determinados comportamentos, com o mesmo intuito. Na vida laboral, a diferença de tratamento dos géneros não baseada em critérios objetivos é muito frequente, e torna-se mais tangível mediante análise dos resultados retributivos. Muitas são as produções legislativas e as iniciativas que desde há muito vêm sendo propiciadas para que, cada vez mais, essa “utopia” possa tornar-se realidade e a diferença salarial seja ultrapassada, ressaltando-se a premissa de que para trabalho igual ou de igual valor, salário igual.
Equality and non discrimination are both fundamental principles, indispensable for the pursuit of the equal treatment between women and men. Despite being interconnected, while one proposes the practice of actions to achieve this ideal, the other determines the prohibition of certain behavior, for the same purpose. In working life, the difference in treatment of the genders, not based on objective criteria, is very common and it becomes more tangible analyzing the retributive results. Many legislative productions and initiatives have been approved for a long time to make this “utopia” a reality and overcome the gender pay gap, emphasizing the premise that for equal work or work of equal value, equal pay.

Przedmiotem dysertacji jest analiza zagadnień związanych ze swobodą umów stron stosunku pracy przy kształtowaniu jego treści. Obecny kształt swobody umów stron stosunku pracy przy kształtowaniu jego treści powstał w zasadniczych zrębach w momencie wprowadzania Kodeksu pracy, w innych uwarunkowaniach ustrojowych, społecznych i gospodarczych. Zmiany, jakie dokonały się w tym czasie, mają charakter fundamentalny, co stwarza nową przestrzeń dla dyskusji o swobodzie umów w prawie pracy. W tej perspektywie sformułowano cztery główne pytania badawcze. Pierwsze pytanie dotyczyło ustalenia charakteru prawnego stosunku pracy i jego związku z prawem publicznym oraz prywatnym. Kolejne pytanie dotyczyło ustalenia normatywnych podstaw obowiązywania zasady swobody umów w indywidualnym prawie pracy oraz mechanizmu jej funkcjonowania. W następnej kolejności postawiono pytanie o zakres swobody umów w odniesieniu do poszczególnych elementów treści stosunku pracy. Wreszcie, czwarte pytanie dotyczyło ustalenia, czy zasada swobody umów powinna zostać uznana za kierunkową zasadę prawa pracy. Niezależnie od problemów badawczych, kompleksowa analiza swobody umów stron stosunku pracy przy kształtowaniu jego treści miała także na celu uporządkowanie materiału normatywnego dotyczącego tej problematyki. Przeprowadzona analiza doprowadziła do sformułowania następujących wniosków. Po pierwsze, jakkolwiek nie jest możliwe całościowe zakwalifikowanie prawa pracy wyłącznie do prawa publicznego bądź prywatnego, powyższy wniosek nie dotyczy stosunku pracy, który jest stosunkiem zobowiązaniowym (pomimo, iż zawiera elementy ingerencji publicznej). Po drugie, granice swobody umów przy kształtowaniu treści stosunku pracy częściowo określone zostały w sposób odmienny, niż w prawie cywilnym, chociaż z wykorzystaniem mechanizmów cywilistycznych. Swoboda, przysługuje stronom także w obszarze tzw. ochrony pracy, chociaż jest ona znacznie bardziej ograniczona. Po trzecie, pomimo iż podstawę obowiązywania swobody umów przy kształtowaniu treści stosunku pracy stanowi art. 3531 k.c. w związku z art. 300 k.p., zasada swobody umów w jej cywilistycznym wydaniu nie stanowi zasady kierunkowej w obszarze kształtowania treści stosunku pracy, w którym swoboda została przyznana w zakresie, jaki jest konieczny do efektywnej realizacji stosunku pracy lub nie zagraża równości stron stosunku pracy i godności pracownika i w którym obecna jest ingerencja państwa w zakresie, jaki jest uzasadniony ochroną równości stron stosunku pracy i godności pracownika. Dysertacja została podzielona na cztery części obejmujących osiem rozdziałów. W części pierwszej (Rozdziały I i II) przedstawiono proces historyczny, w trakcie którego doszło do wyodrębnienia prawa pracy jako samodzielnej gałęzi prawnej, zakres przedmiotowy pojęcia stosunek pracy oraz źródła kształtowania jego treści. Druga część pracy (Rozdział III) została poświęcona przedstawieniu zakresu swobody umów w zobowiązaniowym stosunku prawa cywilnego oraz ukazaniu tła aksjologicznego i normatywnego, uzasadniającego obowiązywanie zasady swobody umów. Zasadniczą treść dysertacji zawarto w trzeciej części (Rozdziały IV – VII), w której dokonano kompleksowej analizy norm prawnych dotyczących swobody umów. Rozważania teoretyczne zawarte w pierwszych trzech częściach pracy zostały w części czwartej (Rozdział VIII) wykorzystane do praktycznej analizy poszczególnych elementów treści stosunku pracy. Dopełnieniem pracy jest zakończenie, w którym zawarto syntetyczne podsumowanie i wnioski szczegółowe. W pracy posłużono się historyczną oraz formalno – dogmatyczną metodą badawczą, a ich wybór został podyktowany celami dysertacji.
The subject of the dissertation is the analysis of issues related to the freedom of contract of parties to an employment contract. The basic framework of the current scope of the freedom of contract of parties to an employment contract to shape its content was created when the Labor Code was introduced, in different political, social and economic conditions. There have been fundamental changes since then creating a new background for discussions on the freedom of contract in employment law. Therefore, four main research questions were formulated. The first question pertains to determination of the legal nature of an employment contract and its connections with public and private law. The second question concerns determination of the normative basis for the principle of freedom of contract in individual employment law and its functioning mechanism. Next, a question was raised about the scope of the freedom of contract in respect of particular elements of the employment relationship. Finally, a fourth question was posed to determine whether the principle of freedom of contract should be recognized as a guiding principle of employment law. Despite research problems, a comprehensive analysis was also aimed at organizing the normative material related to this problem. The analysis led to the following conclusions. Firstly, although it is not possible to generally classify employment law as exclusively private or public law, the same does not apply to the employment relationship, which is a contractual relationship (although it includes elements of public intervention). Secondly, the limitations of the freedom of contract in shaping the content of an employment relationship were partly determined differently than in civil law, although with the use of civil law mechanisms. The freedom of contract applies also in the area of so called employment protection. However, it is more limited in this area. Thirdly, although art. 3531 of the Civil Code in connection with art. 300 of the Labour Code constitutes the legal basis for the freedom of contract of parties to an employment relationship to shape its content, the principle of freedom of contract in its civil meaning does not constitute a guiding principle in the area of shaping the content of an employment relationship where freedom has been granted in the scope which is necessary to effectively realize an employment relationship or does not jeopardize the equality of the parties and employee’s dignity and where the public interference is present in the scope which is justified to protect the equality of the parties to an employment contract and employee’s dignity. The dissertation has been divided into four parts covering eight chapters. The first part (Chapters I and II) presents the historical process during which employment law was separated as an independent branch of law, the material scope of the concept of an employment relationship and the sources of shaping its content. The second part (Chapters III) presents the scope of the freedom of contract in contractual civil law relationships as well as the axiological and normative background justifying application of the principle of freedom of contract. The main content of dissertation is contained in third part (Chapters IV – VII), which provides a comprehensive analysis of the legal norms concerning the freedom of contract. The theoretical considerations contained in the first three parts of the work are used in the fourth part (Chapter VIII) to perform a practical analysis of particular elements of the content of an employment relationship. The dissertation ends with a synthetic summary. In the dissertation, a historical and formal-dogmatic method of research was used. Their choice was justified by the purposes of the dissertation.