Spanish women are not paid the same as their male counterparts for their work, which means that companies save a total of 51 days in wages for female workers between November 11 and December 31, according to Eurostat data for 2020.
The UGT has heavily criticised the situation and is relaunching a campaign that began in 2016 to denounce the wage gap between men and women under the slogan #Yotrabajogratis or ‘I work for free’.
The Union announced the relaunch via Twitter with a photograph of a woman holding a sign saying in 2016 to denounce the wage gap between men and women under the slogan #Yotrabajogratis and a message that read:
“FANY starts working tomorrow for FREE. WOMEN in Spain give away 51 working days a year; they earn 14% less than MEN, according to Eurostat.”
Eurostat analyses 25 member states to determine whether wage inequality has changed year-on-year in 16 different countries.
In 2016 and 2017, Spanish women worked for free from November 8 until the end of the year; that figure improved by two days in 2018 then worsened again in 2019, when it was determined that women worked for free from November 7 until the end of the year.
Data for 2020 shows the wage gap has increased in France, Poland and Slovenia and is static in Spain and Cyprus.
According to Eurostat the gender pay gap in Spain currently stands at 14%, compared to the EU average of 15.7% which means that when the figures are translated, women work 51 days a year for free.
That’s an improvement of four days compared to 2019, but the UGT warns that its campaign is more important than ever this year because of the possible consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Women have lower pensions and worse unemployment benefits, which also means less revenue, less income for the Treasury and Social Security contributions,” says the UGT. “Of all the discrimination suffered by women, wage discrimination is the most difficult to eradicate.”
The UGT says the gender pay gap can only be explained from the point of view of the economic cost it has for companies.
"Correcting this discrimination will allow a greater integration of women in the labour market and benefit the competitiveness and productivity of companies and economic and social spheres."
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