The Amicus union has given financial services employers an ultimatum: eliminate pay inequality in six months, or risk being named and shamed.
The union claims that women working in financial services earn a startling 41% less than men. It has drawn up a charter which it expects all leading financial services providers to sign up to. The charter will commit employers to work with Amicus to tackle the root causes of pay inequality.
Amicus wants employers to follow some of the examples set by HBOS, Legal & General and Barclays. They have been working to eliminate pay discrimination by carrying out pay audits, which identify where discrimination occurs.
The audits cover gender, part-time workers, age, ethnicity and disability. The companies all work with the union on a number of diversity initiatives to remove the barriers for women working in the financial services.
David Fleming, Amicus national officer, warned: “If firms fail to commit to tackling women’s pay, the union will launch a major media campaign to expose those companies which are not genuine in delivering justice and fairness for their female employees.”
