UK: Equal pay legislation has resulted in 'interminable litigation', judge claims

Submitted by Broadsword on Mon, 2012-12-10 02:36

Article here. Excerpt:

'Equal pay litigation has reached "almost epidemic proportions" but has failed to eradicate unfair pay discrimination over the past few decades, a leading judge has claimed.

Lord Justice Mummery launched a broadside against the “interminable litigation” brought to employment tribunals, implying that workers and employers had better things to spend their money on than lawyers’ fees.

The aim of equal pay legislation was not to bring about endless tribunals but to put an end to sex discrimination in matters of pay - something that was taking “a very long time indeed” to achieve, he added.

The appeal court judge said: “Over 30 years of litigation have not eradicated unjustified pay discrimination against both women and men.

"Equal pay litigation in the Employment Tribunals has now reached almost epidemic proportions…

"The long-term goal of the equal pay legislation, which has been in force since 1975, is not, of course, interminable litigation between waged workers and their employers about their rights.'

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"But a survey of salaries in 2010 indicated that women could expect to wait another 57 years before their pay equals men’s."

Despite the debunking of the wage-gap myth, it still persists even at this level. I rather think we'll wait another 57 years before the fact of this myth actually sinks in. It'll *only* be 57 yrs. if we're lucky...

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Submitted by Matt on Mon, 2012-12-10 13:23