Council pay gap revealed
THERE is a “significant” 14% pay gap between male and female workers at RCT Council.
Some authorities and businesses have been criticised for paying men more than women on average.
RHONDDA Cynon Taf Council say it is committed to pay equality after figures revealed a “significant” 14% pay gap between male and female workers.
A 2017 equal pay audit found a mean combined gap of 14.06% between all male and female employees – higher than several other Welsh councils.
The council’s Annual Equality Report 2016-17 said any pay gap of 5% or more is “considered significant” and in need of further analysis.
The mean gender pay gap can often skew results and the median figure, not provided in the RCT Council report, is considered a fairer representation.
The mean gender pay gap is the difference between the mean hourly rate of pay of male full-pay relevant employees and that of female full-pay relevant employees.
A positive figure means a gap to the advantage of male employees and a negative figure means a gap to the advantage of female employees.
The combined gap of 14.06% refers to all employees including nonteaching and teaching staff, with the council required to publish data separately on employees in education.
The full-time gap of all employees was -10.10% and the part-time gap of all employees was 6.02%.
The non-teaching combined gap was 14.66%; the full-time gap was -7.66% and the part-time gap was 5.81%.
The teaching combined gap was 6.28%; the fulltime gap was 5.79% and the part-time gap was -1.08%.
The report added that 25.9% (2,814) of RCT Council workers are male and 74.1% (8,036) are female.
The figures come amid a wider discussion on the gender pay gap after thousands of companies submitted their data to the UK Government.
RCT was one of several Welsh councils not yet to submit their data as part of the wider scheme.
The council said Welsh councils do not have a duty to report their gender pay gaps and that it will publish its figure on the UK Government’s website in “due course”, having awaited its equality report and pay policy being formally agreed by cabinet and council.
Blaenau Gwent Council had a mean pay gap of 7.1% and Caerphilly Council had a mean pay gap of 8.6%, according to their figures submitted to the UK Government.
An RCT Council spokesman said: “The council is committed to the principles of equality and diversity and works to ensure this is demonstrated in its service delivery and employment practices.
“Information relating to the gender pay gap was published in the council’s Annual Equality Report 2016-17, which was considered by cabinet in March 2018, and within the Council’s 2018-19 Pay Policy Statement, which was published recently following agreement by council, also in March 2018.
“The Annual Equality Report outlines the range of work being undertaken by the council to ensure Rhondda Cynon Taf is a more equal place for people to live, work and access services.
“This work includes the council’s contribution to the innovate WAVE (Women Adding Value to the Economy) project delivered in partnership with Cardiff University and proactive steps have been taken to introduce and support flexible working arrangements.”
The gender pay gap for major companies across the Valleys was also re-