Acts as steps to women's equality. ance?
Fair and impartial, effective remedies - well, are they? A great deal has been written about the EPA recently. The most striking thing to emerge is the way the employers have worked at finding ways to get round it.
In The Times (1 December 1975), Ross Davies listed six major methods of evasion [see box on right]. The senes or sunkes over coual pay are a reflection of these problems, and show that organised working class action, not legislation, is the means by which struggles have been won. Last Monday, 29 December, saw the passing into law of the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) and the deadline for full implementation of the Equal Pay Action (EPA). Much is claimed for these But what is their real importthis. At best only middle class women stand to benefit, and the implication of the SDA is to co-opt middle class liberals from the women's movement. The practices of Government departments (social security, pensions, national insurance, taxation - all very discriminatory towards -women) are excluded from the Act.
Employment. In this area the SDA is supposed to have made the greatest advances. It demands equal pay, equal employment, equal conditions. But it is one thing to say They have been loading the • jobs to. discriminate so nen in the rate payable. • They have introduce thus discouraging equal or delay aLIOL claims both m reduced comparisons.
women's rates, s0 1 theoretically that a woman with, for example, engineering qualifications has an equal right to a job at the same rate as a similarly qualified man. It is quite another to include provisions requiring women to be given the training and skills that they normally lack.
Only if day release facilities already exist can women demand access to them. Changes in the structure or women s caucanon, apprenticeships and job allocation It is said that the dole is a good recruiting sergeant. Well, there are now are not envisaged in this Act. Furthermore, domestic work and firms with less than five employees (a considerable proportion of women's employment) are exclud ed from the Act.
No remedy women might consider making a complaint under the SDA. this give a quick remedy? No, on be quick nor a remedy.
to Industrial Tribunals, others to the Civil Courts, but the process will be roughly similar in both.
It So that Lower than Lie lower mun Varying the rate for been refusing to tions of empi evalu TOD comparisons.
• Sacking sayingwrongly-that is higher tha seism and rate of mitted disc women tions to take men in THE TIMES MONDAY DECEMBER 1 1975 The initial complaint must be made to the Industrial Tribunal. Here, woman will have to prove discrimination against her by the employer. who will usually have a lawyer.
If she succeeds, the Tribunal can (but does not have to) either award compensation or recommend its practice, or both. Only if many women take the same complaint to the Tribunal will it issue a general them with cannon fodder for their war There remain a few areas where Will the contrary, the process will neither Employment complaints will go but fixing both sexes will rate existing mini. terms and condi. discourage oyment between direct or refusing to bire although she cannot get legal aid, the (but not compel) the firm to change BEA
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The numbers of jobs de beby en and women have so as to avoid direct