Daniela Amura, LLB Student, UCLan Cyprus

TRENDS AND EVOLUTIONS The general trends for the Republic of Cyprus are promising a positive development in eliminating gender pay inequality. According to the Gender Equality Index 2017, Cyprus displayed a higher level of progress in this regard than the average in the EU. The gender pay gap has been reduced from 16.2%⁽¹⁾ in 2012 to 13.9%⁽²⁾ in 2018. As a result, Cyprus has managed to perform better than the European average, which accounts to 16.2%.⁽³⁾

WHY WOMEN EARN LESS THAN MEN?

• Women are under-represented in managerial jobs One of the reasons why women earn less than men is that women are highly under-represented in managerial and supervisory jobs. Moreover, men are more likely to be promoted than women, and consequently paid better. It is remarkable that, only 6.3% at CEO   level are women.⁽⁴⁾

• Women spend more time on unpaid tasks Women tend to spend 22 hours on average per week on unpaid care and household activities. On the other hand, men spend only 9 hours per week. This is reflected in the labour market by the fact that 1 in 3 women reduces her paid hours to part time, in comparison with 1 in 10 men.⁽⁵⁾ In addition, women tend to spend periods off the labour market more often than men; that causes career interruptions, which affect their hourly pay and future earnings.

• Women are affected by labour market segregation The existing segregation in the labour market and in education, results in women being overrepresented in some sectors and underrepresented in others. For example, women are highly represented in teaching and sales, which are usually low paid occupations.⁽⁶⁾

• Pay discrimination Although pay discrimination is illegal, it continues to contribute significantly to the gender pay gap.

SECTORS OF INDUSTRY WITH THE HIGHEST GENDER PAY GAP According to data from the Statistical Services of Cyprus, the widest gender pay gap can be observed in the arts, entertainment and recreation industry and is as high as 60%. The industries that follow are the financial and insurance industry as well as the scientific and technical industry, with a gender pay gap of 27.8% and 29.9% respectively.⁽⁷⁾

SPECIFIC LEGISLATION ON GENDER PAY EQUALITY

THE EQUAL PAY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN FOR THE SAME WORK AND FOR WORK OF EQUAL VALUE LAW 177(I)/2002 AND THE EQUAL TREAT- MENT OF MEN AND WOMEN IN EMPLOYMENT AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING LAW 205(I)/2002 These laws transpose European Directives 75/117/ EEC, 76/207/EEC, 97/80/EC and 2006/54 EC into Cypriot law. The purpose of this legislation is to enshrine the principles of equal pay between men and women for equal employment and also, impose a burden of proof that allows for more effective action to be taken in cases of discrimination, on the grounds of sex. Moreover, it is      safeguarded that both sexes have equal opportunities and access to vocational training and employment.⁽⁸⁾

SANCTIONS FOR THE EMPLOYER IN CASE OF VIOLATION OF EQUAL PAY LEGISLATION AND MEANS OF ACTION FOR THE EMPLOYEE

PENALTIES AGAINST THE EMPLOYER IN CASE OF BREACH OF LAWS 177(I)/2002 AND 205(I)/2002 Criminal sanctions in case of breach of the abovementioned legislation may be imposed on persons, legal or otherwise, and they may include a fine, imprisonment or both. Criminal fines may be as high as 12.208,30 EUR for legal persons and 6.976,17 EUR for natural persons, depending on the nature of the violation and the status of the violator and the prison sentence may be up to 6 months for natural persons.

MEANS OF ACTION THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO EMPLOYEES ⁽⁹⁾

• Reporting obligations Inspectors have to submit annual reports con- cerning equality of treatment in employment and vocational training to the Chief Inspector, who shall further submit these to the Minister of La- bour, Welfare and Social Insurance on the basis of which the Minister drafts and publishes an Annual General Report of Facts, a copy of which is notified to the ILO, the Attorney General of the Republic, the House of Representative, the Gender Equal- ity Committee in Employment and Vocational Training, and the Labour Consultative Body. The Minister also notifies to the European Commis- sion every four years the texts of all legislation, regulations and administrative provisions relevant to affirmative action, as well as implementation of such measures, specifically in favour of women. In addition, Inspectors submit to the Minister of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance annual re- ports concerning investigated complaints regard- ing payment inequality, on the basis of which the Minister drafts and publishes a relevant Annual General Report of Facts, a copy of which is notified to the ILO, the Attorney General of the Republic, the House of Representative, the Labour Consulta- tive Body and the European Commission.

• Raising complaints through the Equality Authority of the Ombudsman’s Office The Equality Authority’s main purpose is to ensure compliance with the provisions of the European Directives, particularly Directive 2006/54/EC, to promote the equality principle in employment, self-employment, occupation and vocational training as well as to examine complaints of discriminatory conduct. The Ombudsman may carry out an investigation into the said complaint, order that an infringement is stopped within a set deadline, make recommendations to the infringing party, monitor the situation and impose an administrative fine of up to 610,41 EUR.

• Seeking mediation through the Equality Inspectors of the Ministry of Labour

The inspectors’ main duty is to ensure better implementation of the legislation relating to gender-based discrimination and the promotion of gender equality. Their role is to investigate discrimination complaints and act, where possible, as mediator between the parties. If an agreement is reached, the Inspectors will write a report and both parties will then sign it. If an agreement cannot be reached between the parties to the complaint, a different report is drafted with all the Inspectors’ findings and this can be used as evidence before a competent court.

• Obtaining assistance through the Gender Equality Committee in Employment and Vocational Training The Committee is responsible for promoting social dialogue between the representatives of employers and the representatives of employees, as well as with non-governmental organisations that have a legitimate interest in promoting equality between men and women. It has also been appointed as the competent body for providing victims of discrimination with independent assistance, including legal representation, in Court.

• Court protection Any person may pursue their rights under equal pay legislation before the competent court, even in case where the alleged relevant infringement has ended and s/he may use any appropriate means that substantiate the fact of infringement and all types of damage suffered due to this infringement. Where the party alleging infringement establishes a prima facie claim, the burden of proof shifts to the other party to prove on the balance of probabilities that there has been no infringement. Where damage to this effect has been suffered due to administrative acts which violate equal pay legislation and later annulled by the Administrative Court (or the Supreme Court upon appeal), the injured party may file a civil action to the District Court to obtain fair and reasonable compensation, as well as compensation for all the pecuniary and non-pecuniary loss suffered, plus legal interest from the date when the damage was suffered up to the full payment of compensation.

In all other cases, the Industrial Disputes Tribunal is competent to award fair and reasonable compensation which covers all the pecuniary and non-pecuniary loss suffered, plus legal interest from the date when the damage was suffered up to the full payment of compensation. The Industrial Disputes Tribunal may also order reappointment of an employee and oblige an employer to accept the services of such an employee, provided the employee has requested such remedy, and, where it considers necessary, may issue a binding order recognising the rights of the applicant in relation to the alleged infringement.

(1) _{European Commission, ‘Equal Pay Day: Gender Pay Gap} stagnates at 16.4% across Europe’ (28 February 2014) http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-190_en.htm

(2) _ibid.

(3) _{European Commision, ‘The gender pay gap in the European}

Union’ (November 2018) https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/ files/aid_development_cooperation_fundamental_rights/ equalpayday-eu-factsheets-2018_en.pdf.

(4) _ibid.

(5) _{European Commision, ‘The gender pay gap in the European}

Union’ (November 2018) https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/ files/aid_development_cooperation_fundamental_rights/ equalpayday-eu-factsheets-2018_en.pdf.

(6) _ibid

(7) _{statistical Service of the Republic of Cyprus,}

Structure of Earnings Survey 2014 (July 2016) https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/ All/0D65766EC11A4DB0C2257777003AD5BC/$file/ EARNINGS_SURVEY_RESULTS-2014-150716. pdf?OpenElement

(8) _{Maria Liapi, ‘The Effects of the Economic Crisis on Gender}

Pay Gap: A Comparative Analytical Report between Cyprus, Greece and Portugal’ https://www.inek.org.cy/GPG/images/ pdf/car_final/CAR_Final_report-the_Effects_of_the_ Economic_Crisis_on_GPG_opt_opt.pdf

(9) _{The Republic of Cyprus, ‘Report on the implementation} of European Directives 76/207/EEC, 2002/73/EC and 2006/54/EC (relating to the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion and working conditions)’ http://www.mlsi.gov.cy/mlsi/dl/ dl.nsf/439C12D90ACA3137C22580AB002BF9B7/$