The Labor Inspectorate will be involved in the fight against labor inequality

Last week, the Employment Minister of Murcia presented to unions and business organizations the measures against discrimination against women at work

The Labour Inspectorate will include among its objectives the fight against labour inequality in companies in the Region of Murcia, according to the package of measures that the regional Government presented last Thursday to unions and employers to reduce the gender gap. There are 34 proposals for action that cover fields as diverse as education, social affairs, public procurement and, of course, labour.

This is the first step towards implementing this plan, which is expected to be launched within a month, following dialogue between the Executive and the social stakeholders and the collection of contributions from them.

One of the measures is to strengthen the labour authority's inspection plan starting this year to detect cases of inequality in the workplace, which will require the collaboration of the unions, said the Minister of Employment, Juan Hernández Albarracín.

The Autonomous Community will penalize companies that discriminate against women in the workplace and in terms of salaries in hiring processes, and will provide aid to companies that have equality plans and hire long-term unemployed workers.

Many of these measures are aimed at the business sector. The development of the plan includes the creation of a programme of aid or deductions for companies aimed at promoting the adaptation of facilities that contribute to implementing conciliation plans (maternity wards, nurseries, etc.). In addition, the Community will value that companies have equality plans when granting subsidies and aid.

The measures include the creation of the Equal Pay Observatory, with the support of the University of Murcia, which will be responsible for publishing an annual report to analyse the evolution of equal pay policies in private companies and in the regional public sector.

Hernández stressed that the regional government "wants to put an end to the reasons behind the gender gap" and underlined that "women have increasingly higher expectations regarding their professional careers, so if companies want to attract the best talents, equality at work becomes essential."

She also recalled the measures included in the plan, which were announced last Tuesday by the President of the regional Government, Fernando López Miras, among which she highlighted that companies that are sanctioned for discrimination against women will not be able to have a contractual relationship with the regional Administration for three years.

Likewise, all suppliers with contracts exceeding 200,000 euros or who have been signing contracts for more than two years during the last four years must submit an equality plan through a responsible declaration in order to continue contracting with the regional Administration.

Approval of the Equality Badge

For her part, Councillor Violante Tomás stated that “equal pay is a matter of justice. It would be enough to comply with the Law, that equal pay for equal work.” In this regard, she stressed that the Community will soon approve the Equality badge in companies and the Emplea en Igualdad Network. “The Ministry will launch a guide to the operation of the Emplea en Igualdad Network in the Region, taking into account both companies and institutions that have the equality badge and those that have implemented equality measures in their companies and request to be part of this Network,” she added.
The Ministry will also provide free training to companies on how to incorporate the principle of equality and will also publish a grant order, worth 300,000 euros, so that SMEs can implement equality plans in their organisations.

On the other hand, both councillors highlighted the involvement of the regional Administration in the fight against the labour gap, where there is a Plan for Equality between women and men in the public Administration that establishes fundamental objectives such as guaranteeing real and effective equality between women and men in public employment and in working conditions, achieving a balanced representation of women and men, or promoting and improving the possibilities of access for women to positions of responsibility.

237,318 women affiliated to Social Security

At the end of 2017, the Region had 237,318 women affiliated to Social Security, 8,974 more than in December 2016. Therefore, this represents an increase of 3.93%, meaning that female employment this year grew more than male employment (which grew by 3.85%).
The Employment Minister stressed that "since the beginning of the legislature, 17,982 jobs have been created for women, an increase of 8.21%3T, above the male increase (7.64%3T)."

Likewise, at the end of 2017 the Region had 34,265 self-employed women, 3,005 more (9.611 TP3T) than in 2013, when the economic recovery began. This increase is above the growth in male self-employment, which was 5.16. According to the EPA, in the last year female unemployment has fallen by 6,700 women, 9.71 TP3T, while male unemployment fell by 2.941 TP3T.