A new law set to come into force on Saturday in Germany will strengthen calls by women for equal pay, the nation’s Women’s Affairs minister said on Thursday.
According to the Minister, Katarina Barley, if a woman is sure that she will be paid less than a man, then, she can make a claim for equal pay for equal and equivalent work. “From Saturday, when the law comes in to effect, workers will have the opportunity to find out which of their colleagues earn more,’’ Barley said.
The new law, which is aimed at closing the wage gender gap, applies to companies with over 200 employees.
“What people are paid is still a taboo subject. “Most women, therefore, often do not know how much they earn in comparison to their male colleagues, who are doing an equal or equivalent job,” she said.
“If a woman gets paid less than her male colleagues, then she can now also approach her company’s in-house union representatives,’’ the minister, who is a member of the centre-left Social Democrats, said.
