Baroness Warsi
Main Page: Baroness Warsi (Conservative - Life peer)
Baroness Scott of Bybrook
I thank the noble Baroness. The Government remain unconvinced that the right to know will help. It is a very complex issue, but I understand why she is bringing this forward. As I said, my noble friend the Minister for Women will look carefully at this and study the proposal in the Bill of the noble Baroness this coming year. We will want to talk to all sorts of people. I am sure that will happen, but if a number of noble Lords would like to meet to discuss this further, I am more than happy to do so as we move forward this year.
Baroness Warsi (Con)
My Lords, my noble friend will agree, as will other noble Lords, that this House fundamentally believes that people should receive equal pay for equal work, irrespective of their gender. She will also be aware that we often find out whether we are being paid equally for equal work only after costly court proceedings when things go wrong. Does she agree that, since 79% of women and 74% of men say that the right to know is a good thing, the Government should take heed of it and make sure that pledges on equal pay for equal work—50 years on from the Equal Pay Act—are met in the forthcoming Bill?
Baroness Scott of Bybrook
I understand that both men and women think that it is a good idea but, practically, it is quite complex for anybody in a workplace to ask a colleague how much they earn. I do not know whether you can make that a statutory duty because it is somebody’s right, but this is being looked at and we will come to an agreement on it. We need to wait, look and spend this year deciding what needs to be done on this issue.