Earlier this month, the Equal Opportunity against part-time workers on the grounds that it contravenes Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome. Ninety per cent of part-time workers are women, some 4.6 million women. In this fourth article in looks at the issue. THE High Court's decision to reject the EOC's claim, goes completely against a ruling in 1989 from the European Court of Justice on a similar case.
In that case a West German woman arene worse suc cessfully argued that West Gerwhich excluded those working 10 hours or less a week from statutor Article 119 and ic directives Article 119 and This Article requires equality of treatment between men and The Court ruled that, since a worked part-time, legislation excluding them from pay rights effectivly discriminated against women Implications This was thought at the time to have important implications for women workers in Britain, according government surveys, many sick pay schemes in the retail sector (where large numbers of women part-time workers are employea) do aiscriminate against women.
Ine ruling demonstrates that women workers cannot rely legalistic framework (British or European) to solve the problems of discrimination in the workplace or the reasons why are forced into part-time, low-paid and low-status jobs.
For many women, workng part-time is a necessary esult of not being able to find full-time work. It is not unusual for women to have several part-time jobs, particularly in cleaning, caterink ana relate Jut for many women, part ime work allows them to fit their paid work around their family responsibilities. As a working twilight shifts, part-time during school hours, oron weekends.
over the sexual division of labour, both in the home and in the workplace, is theretore vita. when campart-time workers.
At present 1: someone works less than 16 hours a week, they have to wait for five years qualify for compensation for matemity pay. If you work less man sions nour a week, ther you don't qualify at all.
Some 2.4 million part-time workers are not covered by National Insurance benefits and are therefore not covered by social security protection.
There is also the question of low pay. The average hourly earnines for women worked part-time in 1990 was t3.ys. That was the averase many thousands of women The vast majority of part-time workers are not in a trade union. This is also the case for homeworkers and temporary workers, most of whom are also women. trade is still much that needs to be
our 'Women in the Unions' series, EMMA DEAN greater proportion of women
Assumptions Challenging traditional as- sumptions
paigning around rights for LADI
unions have begun to try and recruit these workers but there