Equality Bill

I hope that it is convenient for me to speak now. I have two main points. First, the Government’s position shows no understanding at all of the history. The Equal Pay Act was enacted in 1970 and employers were given five years before it came into force to move their pay so that there was equal pay for women. After those five years, in 1975, the obligation to give equal pay became legally binding. In the early cases, such as the Julie Hayward case, the House of Lords repeatedly warned employers that the results of those cases should lead employers to carry out what the Government would now call mandatory pay awards. That did not happen. I have listened carefully to the Minister but, with respect, the second reason why what she says is not convincing is because of the CBI’s own brief. If the CBI had written a brief saying that it welcomed the Government’s proposals and that it would ask its members to give them effect, it might be a different matter. We are trying to change the culture of discrimination, which is more than 40 or probably more than 100 years old. It beggars belief, but the CBI in its briefing says that, ""forcing companies to report on their gender pay gaps would not help to tackle the root causes of inequality"." It opposes Clause 78, saying that it is too simplistic; it could tar employers; it is short-termist and that there should only be voluntary initiatives and so on. If the CBI, which as I have said in the past was not like this, is now taking this as its official position, what hope is there in a plea to voluntarism all these years after the Equal Pay Act and the European equivalent came into force? It will not happen. It will not happen even if this Government win the next election, and it will certainly not happen if they do not. That is why when we come to Report I intend to push for some beef. My wife, who is a vegetarian, will forgive me for using that phrase.