Directing Equal Pay in the UK ICT Labour Market

Author(s):  
Claire Keogh ◽  
Angela Tattersall ◽  
Helen Richardson

The UK labour market is dramatically changing, with rapid technological innovations alongside globalisation where organisations are required to place a premium on human and intellectual capital. The demand for labour is outstripping supply, and businesses are increasingly dependent on their ability to attract, invest in and develop their workforce (Kingsmill, 2003). However, a recent comparative report of the information technology (IT) workforce in Holland, Germany and the UK indicates that women are haemorrhaging out of the IT sector (Platman & Taylor, 2004). Given that presently there is an IT specialist’s skills shortage of 18.4% (IER/IFF, 2003), and female IT managers represent a mere 15% of ICT managers, 30% of IT operations technicians and 11% of IT strategy planning professionals (EOC, 2004a), this suggests that the ICT industry is not equipped for equality and diversity at work. Despite many years of egalitarian rhetoric and 3 decades after the UK Equal Pay Act (1970) was introduced, women still receive on average 18% less than that of their male counterparts working full-time and 41% less than men when working part-time hours. The ESF-funded DEPICT project seeks to identify pay discrimination experienced by women in ICT at a national level throughout England. An important aim is to highlight the impact of pay and reward discrimination has on the underrepresentation of women in the ICT labour market. From this study, we hope to more clearly understand the reasons for the gender pay gap, particularly in the ICT sector; and the impact this has on women’s entry and retention to occupations where they are already severely underrepresented. Equal pay is an issue for all; it’s unjust, unlawful and impacts on social justice, equality and economic performance (EOC, 2001b). Pay is a major factor affecting relationships at work; distribution and levels of pay and benefits affect efficiency of organisations, workforce morale and productivity. It is vital for organisations to develop pay systems that reward workers fairly for the work they perform (ACAS, 2005).

Author(s):  
Claire Keogh ◽  
Angela Tattersall ◽  
Helen Richardson

The UK labour market is dramatically changing, with rapid technological innovations alongside globalisation where organisations are required to place a premium on human and intellectual capital. The demand for labour is outstripping supply, and businesses are increasingly dependent on their ability to attract, invest in and develop their workforce (Kingsmill, 2003). However, a recent comparative report of the information technology (IT) workforce in Holland, Germany and the UK indicates that women are haemorrhaging out of the IT sector (Platman & Taylor, 2004). Given that presently there is an IT specialist’s skills shortage of 18.4% (IER/IFF, 2003), and female IT managers represent a mere 15% of ICT managers, 30% of IT operations technicians and 11% of IT strategy planning professionals (EOC, 2004a), this suggests that the ICT industry is not equipped for equality and diversity at work. Despite many years of egalitarian rhetoric and 3 decades after the UK Equal Pay Act (1970) was introduced, women still receive on average 18% less than that of their male counterparts working full-time and 41% less than men when working part-time hours. The ESF-funded DEPICT project seeks to identify pay discrimination experienced by women in ICT at a national level throughout England. An important aim is to highlight the impact of pay and reward discrimination has on the underrepresentation of women in the ICT labour market. From this study, we hope to more clearly understand the reasons for the gender pay gap, particularly in the ICT sector; and the impact this has on women’s entry and retention to occupations where they are already severely underrepresented. Equal pay is an issue for all; it’s unjust, unlawful and impacts on social justice, equality and economic performance (EOC, 2001b). Pay is a major factor affecting relationships at work; distribution and levels of pay and benefits affect efficiency of organisations, workforce morale and productivity. It is vital for organisations to develop pay systems that reward workers fairly for the work they perform (ACAS, 2005).


Author(s):  
Victor Oyaro Gekara

AbstractOver the past few decades the impact of globalisation on society and industry at the national level has been immense and has been studied and extensively documented in the literature. Some of the major benefits and losses accruing from economic globalisation, particularly since the late 1970s have been debated by dominant political economy commentators (see e.g. Harvey 2005; Held et al. 1999; Strange 1996; Scholte 2000; Stiglitz 2002; Giddens 2002; Chomsky 2017). An important aspect of the globalising process has been the extensive restructuring of production and distribution patterns in search of cheaper resources, through aggressive outsourcing and offshoring. The result for many national economies, particularly advanced industrial states, has been a drastic decline in traditional industries affecting both labour and capital (Dunning 1993; Beck 2005; Perraton 2019). This chapter examines the decline in the seafaring labour markets of the so-called Traditional Maritime Countries (TMN), and the implications for union organising focusing on the UK and its seafaring labour. It examines the creation of Nautilus International (NI) Union via a merger of unions for maritime professionals across different countries in Europe initially beginning with Great Britain, the Netherlands and later Switzerland. This was a uniquely strategic response to declining membership and weakening organising capacity. Some of the key challenges associated with unions trying to organise and represent their members in the context of industrial and labour market decline are explored.


2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica García Quesada

AbstractFailures of compliance with European Union (EU) directives have revealed the EU as a political system capable of enacting laws in a wide range of different policy areas, but facing difficulties to ensure their actual implementation. Although the EU relies on national enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with the EU legislation, there is scarce analysis of the differential deterrent effect of national enforcement in EU law compliance. This article examines the enforcement of an EU water directive, the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, in Spain and the UK. It focuses on the existing national sanctions for disciplining actors in charge of complying with EU requirements, and on the actual use of punitive sanctions. The analysis shows that a more comprehensive and active disciplinary regime at the national level contributes to explain a higher degree of compliance with EU law. The article calls for a detailed examination of the national administrative and criminal sanction system for a more comprehensive understanding of the incentives and disincentives to comply with EU law at the national state level.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline Nightingale

This article uses Labour Force Survey data to examine why male and female part-time employees in the UK are more likely to be low paid than their full-time counterparts. This ‘low pay penalty’ is found to be just as large, if not larger, for men compared to women. For both men and women, differences in worker characteristics account for a relatively small proportion of the part-time low pay gap. Of greater importance is the unequal distribution of part-time jobs across the labour market, in particular the close relationship between part-time employment and social class. Using a selection model to adjust for the individual’s estimated propensity to be in (full-time) employment adds a modest amount of explanatory power. Particularly for men, a large ‘unexplained’ component is identified, indicating that even with a similar human capital and labour market profile part-time workers are more likely than full-time workers to be low paid.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 1341-1361
Author(s):  
Hoon Choi

PurposeThis paper examines whether and how labour market duality can be alleviated through legislation that prohibits discrimination based on employment type.Design/methodology/approachIn 2007, the Korean government undertook a labour reform banning discriminatory treatment against fixed-term, part-time and dispatched workers. By exploiting a gradual implementation of the anti-discrimination law by firm size targeting a subset of non-regular workers, the paper identifies the treatment effects of the anti-discrimination law, taking a difference-in-difference-in-differences approach.FindingsThe results suggest that the anti-discrimination law significantly increases hourly wages and the probabilities of being covered by national pension, health insurance, and employment insurance for targeted non-regular workers in small firms relative to other workers. Anticipatory behaviours of employers and selective transitions of employees in response to the implementation of the anti-discrimination law do not underlie the estimated effects. The presence of labour unions contributes to reducing gaps in labour conditions between regular workers and targeted non-regular workers.Originality/valueThe main contribution of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on causal impacts of equal pay legislation on the gaps in labour conditions between different categories of workers, using a difference-in-difference-in-differences estimation.


UK Politics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 145-169
Author(s):  
Andrew Blick

This chapter looks at how voting helps people to take a direct role in politics. The chapter discusses the rules by which the electoral system operates. It discusses the different types of electoral systems used in the UK. It connects General Elections and the formation of government at the national level. The chapter then offers a number of theoretical perspectives from which to consider voting in terms of fairness, mandates, and effectiveness. The chapter looks at the impact of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011 and how the integrity of elections is maintained. Finally, it looks at the plan to equalize the size and reduce the number of UK parliamentary constituencies.


1999 ◽  
Vol 168 ◽  
pp. 82-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Barrell ◽  
Veronique Genre

Labour market reform has become a central policy issue for many European countries, and there are lessons to learn for the further development of the New Deal in the UK. We discuss reforms in Denmark and the Netherlands, and look at their implication for employment and earnings. The Dutch started a sequence of reforms in the early 1980s based around wage moderation. Real wages per person hour rose less rapidly than elsewhere in Europe, and employment rose more strongly. Other reforms made the labour market more flexible, and many part-time jobs were created. The Dutch can claim to have succeeded in improving their labour market preformance. The Danes started serious reforms in the 1990s, and individuals on social benefits have a right and a duty to be activated. Registered unemployment has fallen sharply as a result of these New Deal style policies, but only some of these individuals have moved into employment. Increased flexibility, moderate real wage growth and active support for job-seekers all seem to help reduce unemployment and raise employment. Evidence from Denmark and the Netherlands suggests that making work relatively more rewarding helps to reduce inactivity and unemployment.


2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Del Boca ◽  
Silvia Pasqua

Recent social and labour market policies in Italy have altered childcare costs and availability, increased opportunities for part-time jobs and flexibility in working hours and extended parental leave. This analysis focuses on the impact of these changes on the labour supply of mothers in Italy in comparison with other countries. Data from Eurostat and the OECD, and empirical results from the Italian Survey on Household Income and Wealth (SHIW) and from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) are presented. The data show how the situation of Italian mothers is not dissimilar from that of mothers in other southern European countries, in particular Spain and Greece.


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