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A consideration of the Anti-Discrimination (Pay)
Act, 1974
By GRAHAM M. GOLDING, Solicitor
In the United Nations' Declaration of Human
lights, which may be said to have had its legal origin
in the United Nations' Declaration of Human Rights
Rights in
1949, was c o n c c r n c d , inter alia,
with the realisation of equality of the. sexes. At
Common Law, it need hardly be mentioned, an
employer is at liberty to treat workers unequally
either by the bestowal of favours or by the imposi-
tion of burdens. This conflicts with the ILO Con-
vention Concerning Discrimination in Respect of
Employment and Occupation, 1958 (No. Ill), which
required those ratifying the Convention to take
measures against "any distinction, exclusion or pre-
ference made on the basis of . . . sex" (inter alia)
"which has the effect of nullifying or impairing
equality of opportunity or treatment in employment
or occupation." (It might be added for the sake of
completeness that the European Social Charter and
the European Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950)
enumerate a number of human rights secured on
similar grounds, but do not appear to include equality
of the sexes as a fundamental human right).
As part of the social policy of the EEC, Article 119
of the Treaty of Rome (1957) provides: "Each Mem-
ber State shall in the course of the first stage ensure
and subsequently maintain the application of the
principle of equal remuneration for equal work as
between men and women workers." This remained
tin implemented by the Member States of the EEC
until recently. Indeed, in many of the Member States
women have gone on strike for equal pay, the most
celebrated case being at the Belgian national arma-
ments factory in 1966.
Almost on the eve of International Women's Year,
on 17th December, 1974, the Council of Ministers for
Social Affairs met in Brussels and adopted a Directive
on harmonising the application of equal pay for men
and women throughout the European Community.
Understandably, this has been a contentious issue
since the Community was founded: and pursuant to
Article 119, the Member States were given four years,
later extended to six, to implement that Artic'e.
Finally, as no satisfactory progress had been made,
more than a year ago the Commission of the EEC
put forward a proposed Directive on the matter (O.J.
No. C 114/46, 27.12.73), which, as stated, has now
been adopted.
Directive
on
Equal Rights
for Women
The Directive commences by reciting that it is
first of all the responsibility of Member States to
insure the implementation of Article 119, but in
spite of the adoption by the Conference of Member
States of a Resolution intended to implement har-
moniously the principllc of equal pay, nevertheless
"considerable differences may be observed in the
national provisions." Therefore, the Directive con-
tinues, it is necessary to remove these differences and
to approximate the national provisions. Also, the
Directive points out, even in those States with the
most advanced legislation, doubts remain with regard
to the practical application of the principles oi
equality; and, in order that the growing number of
female workers may benefit from the harmonisation
of workers' living and working conditions as part of
the balanced socio-economic development of the
Community, it is necessary to improve and harmonise
such provisions. (In Ireland, the Trade Union move-
ment estimates that the average hourly wage paid to
women is only 70°/ of that paid to men. Women com-
prise 26% of Ireland's labour force. In large to
medium size firms, however, women comprise only J
to
2%
of the management).
The Directive decrees that Member States shall
introduce into their municipal legal systems such
measures as are necessary to enable persons who
consider themselves aggrieved by the non-application
of the principle of equal pay to enforce their claims
before the courts.
All discrimination between the sexes shall be
abolished which arises from laws or administrative
provisions implementing the Directive are to be
punished. The provisions implementing the Directive
are to be brought to the notice of workers and the
laws of Member States are to be amended in accord-
ance with the Directive within six months from the
date of notification of the -Directive to the Member
States. Such amended laws are to take effect not later
than 31st December, 1975.
In the meantime the United Kingdom has passed
legislation along these lines: Equal Pay Act, 1970
(c. 41). It is not within the scope of this short review
to study it in detail; suffice it to observe that it is
becoming effective in stages, to be fully in force on
29th December, 1975 (rather an odd date). It appears
that the British Act was, in part, a response to the
claim for equal pay made by the TUC since 1888
and, in part, the result of international pressure on
successive U.K. governments to ratify the ILO Con-
vention of 1951 on Equal Pay (No. 100). The Report
of the European Community for January/February,
1974, on Britain in Europe 1973 stated, "Britain's
proposed anti-discrimination law, which will be the
first of its kind in the EEC, will not go far enough."
Turning to Ireland, the Anti-Discrimination (Pay)
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