The principle of equal pay for women and men for equal work and work of equal value has been firmly anchored in the European treaties since the Treaty of Rome in 1957.
It is also an essential component of the equal rights of women and men protected by fundamental rights.
(cf. printed matter 18/11133)

For this reason, yesterday, March 30, 2017, the Bundestag held a final debate on a draft bill by the German government to create more pay equity between men and women.
The Bundestag adopted the bill.
It still has to be passed on to the Bundesrat before the law can be adopted.

The main contents of the Remuneration Transparency Act are as follows:

1. the definition of key principles and terms relating to the requirement of equal pay between women and men for equal work and work of equal value,
2. the introduction of an individual right to information for employees in companies with more than 200 employees, while at the same time strengthening the works council in exercising the right to information,
3. the request to private employers with more than 500 employees to implement company procedures to review and establish equal pay, and
4. the introduction of a reporting obligation on equal opportunities and equal pay for women and men for companies that generally have at least 500 employees, insofar as they are required to submit a management report in accordance with the German Commercial Code.

Draft law initially only affects companies with more than 200 employees

According to the draft submitted to the Bundestag by the federal government, employers with more than 200 employees will in future be required to inform their employees on request of the criteria according to which they are paid.

In future, employers with more than 500 employees will be obliged to regularly review their pay structures for compliance with equal pay for men and women.
The corresponding reports should then be freely accessible to all employees.

The government hopes that its law will ensure greater transparency and pay equity in companies.

Comprehensive motion by the Left Party

The Die Linke parliamentary group also advocated the same goal.
It called on the federal government to launch legislative initiatives.
Specifically, this should include the establishment of a wage measurement instrument that complies with EU law.
Die Linke also called for a statutory right of action in the event of direct and indirect wage discrimination and a legal obligation for the parties to collective bargaining agreements to dismantle discriminatory pay systems.

The private sector is also to be legally obliged to take measures to equalize and promote the compatibility of work and family life.
However, the parliamentary group’s corresponding amendments were rejected by the Bundestag.

Green Party motion: All collective and company agreements should be checked for pay discrimination

Like Die Linke, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen also called on the federal government to present a draft law to enforce equal pay.
According to their ideas, the collective bargaining partners should be obliged to have all future and existing collective and company agreements checked for pay discrimination.
The review should be carried out over the next five years and all discrimination should be eliminated within a specified period.

The same should also apply to companies not bound by collective agreements, the public sector and companies subject to tendency protection.

Furthermore, the Greens are committed to banning all confidentiality clauses on salary in employment contracts.
At the same time, the General Equal Treatment Act should also be comprehensively amended.
The amendments proposed by the Greens were also rejected.

The issue continues to affect employers and employees alike.
We will follow the further development of the legislative process and keep you up to date here.