New law to FORCE payrises– Germans can ask what their colleagues earn so bosses MATCH it
GERMAN workers are now legally allowed to ask what their colleagues earn and force pay rises in a landmark new ruling.
Aimed at tackling the gender pay gap, the new rules will allow women to find out exactly how much their male counterparts are being paid in comparison to their own wage.
The salary disclosure law will give women in any company employing at least 200 people the right to ask what five male workers earn.
And, if there is a vast discrepancy between the wages, the law can also be used to force a pay rise.
Manuela Schwesig, the women’s affairs minister, said: “We finally want to break the taboo that you do not talk about money,
“It is very important that we show the women in this country we are taking this issue seriously. It is a question of fairness.”
The change will also ensure women can find out whether a bonus is paid or a company car provided to their male counterparts, where they do not receive the same benefits.
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On average, women in Germany earn 21 per cent less than men.
And once the rate of low-paid or part-time work is taken into account, there is still a 7 per cent gap for women with the same qualifications and doing the same work.
It is very important that we show the women in this country we are taking this issue seriously
But the change was not pushed through without opposition.
Many employers’ groups complained the ruling would mean more red tape from businesses and less freedom to reward top performers.
Lutz Goebel, leader of the German association of family enterprises, said: “At some point we will arrive at a socialist cover-all standard wage with no motivation to perform.”
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While other critics argued the regulations would “foster envy and discontent” in the workplace according to Christian von Stetten, an MP from Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.
The news comes just days after the government in Reykjavik became the first country to introduce legislation requiring employers to prove that they are paying men and women equally.