BE criticizes wage inequality and the government points to the large number of women in the market.

This Friday, the Left Bloc considered that there is an “absurd level” of wage inequality between men and women, and the government pointed out that Portugal is one of the countries with the most women in the labor market.

“We need to start somewhere, because something needs to be done to combat the absurd level of wage inequality between men and women that exists in Portugal,” MP Joana Mortagua said at the opening of the current debate on “gender inequality in the world work” planned by BE in Parliament.

The MP believes that this represents “a disaster for women’s rights in Portugal, for gender equality, it causes economic dependence of women, which also makes them more vulnerable and more susceptible to other types of violence and inequality, it is a disaster for the economy, it is a disaster, because that low-paid women are women with lower pensions and therefore women are also the poorest in Portuguese society.”

“Apart from the statistical problem, we have a political problem, we have a law full of good intentions, no one doubts it, but we have no way to apply it,” Joana Mortagua said, defending its regulation and the need for “wage transparency tools “. , regular disclosure of wages and salaries to assess the presence or absence of discrimination on the basis of sex”, as well as “harder consequences if wage inequality is detected”.

The blogger considered that the solutions envisaged by the current legislation “are not real, concrete or minimally effective consequences for combating wage inequality.”

Joana Mortagua also questioned the published data on wage inequality in Portugal, pointing out that “they talk about 12 or 13%, but these data are not true.”

The blogger stated that if “average earnings are used as a comparative term that includes other types of subsidies in addition to the basic remuneration, the inequality rises to 16%” and that “when the accounts are made in more detail and they are already done by researchers in this country, the difference in monthly earnings is 19%, and the difference in monthly earnings is 21%.

Also at the start of the debate in the Assembly of the Republic, the Secretary of State for Social Security stated that “Portugal is today one of the European countries with the highest participation rate of women in the labor market”, arguing that “the participation rate of women is currently 50% and men – 57%.

However, Gabriel Bastos acknowledged that “Despite the paradigm shift, it is undeniable that situations of inequality persist and are of a different nature.”

“They manifest themselves from an early age in access to qualifications and access to work, and they already manifest themselves in the context of work, at various levels, from the level of wages, through the exercise of rights related to paternity or in relation to reconciling work with personal and family life. as well as training and career opportunities,” he concluded.

The Secretary of State believes that “the labor market continues to be hostile to women, especially those with small dependent children or those responsible for caring for family members.”

“In 2022, 17,555 companies received the Equal Pay Seal, those who do not qualify are notified by the ACT. [Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho]”, said the Secretary of State for Social Security, pointing out that “Last February, the ACT notified 1,540 employers with 50 or more employees who had wage inequality equal to or greater than 5%” and that “any company covered by this action under The law has 120 days to submit an evaluation plan and one year to apply it.”

And he argued that “efforts have been made not only to create new obligations, but also to create concrete tools to enforce the principles of the law.”

“A new directive on the wage gap is also being discussed in the European Commission, which we are following, and which will also have some innovations that will eventually be transferred to national legislation,” Gabriel Bastos assured, also highlighting the Decent Agenda that will enter in force in May.