The European proposal to close the pay gap is “far too left-wing”

The European Parliament voted on a draft directive aimed at tackling the gender pay gap. Companies with more than 50 employees would have a transparency obligation, requiring them to report information about the pay gap in their company to the government, unions and employees. “A witch hunt” is what MEP Assita Kanko calls this directive. That is why the N-VA group voted against it. “Of course, the pay gap must be closed as soon as possible, but this must not be done by overloading SMEs with expensive and heavy administration.”

Companies with at least 50 employees must become more transparent about the gender pay gap. Where this exceeds 2.5%, an action plan must be rolled out. The European Parliament wants to reduce the pay gap between men and women with this approach. Employees and unions would also be entitled to request information on their salary and the average salary of colleagues doing equivalent work, broken down by gender.

Companies where the pay gap exceeds 2.5% must, in consultation with the trade unions, carry out a pay analysis and develop an action plan.

Far too left-wing

Assita Kanko considers Parliament’s proposal far too left-wing. “Must the pay gap be closed as soon as possible? Yes. I have always strived for that. Must this be done through expensive and heavy administrative burdens for SMEs and a real witch-hunt against employers? No,” Assita Kanko says.