"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". George Orwell's acid observation, from Animal Farm, retains its relevance, it seems, so far as the pay of men and women is concerned in this State. The Minister for Public Enterprise, Mary O'Rourke, has ordered an equality audit in all semi-state companies for which she has responsibility, following the Labour Court's landmark ruling recently that four women employed by the Irish Aviation Authority had been denied equal pay on foot of false descriptions of the work they were doing.
Commendably, the Minister has announced that her Department will not appeal the ruling, which is certain to have significant cost and status implications in many public and private employments. Her endorsement of the principles involved should bolster the position of those who believe they have suffered pay discrimination for this reason. It will upset cosy, effectively sexist, arrangements endorsed by trade union members in many occupations.
This ruling can be seen as a response to the demands for equality arising from decades of struggle in work places throughout the State. Although these were formally successful, reflected in legislation and often drawing inspiration from European directives, it is clear that it was still possible to get around them by playing with words and definitions. This will now become more difficult for all concerned.
From now on it will be necessary to concentrate, not on who does the work, but on its intrinsic value. Benchmarks on this subject will no doubt be put in train by trade unions and personnel departments. The knock-on effect in private industry and the public service will be interesting to behold, as the effect of retrospection sinks in. But it would be foolish to assume that all such claims will be endorsed by the ruling. Case by case examination will still be necessary; and in some cases there could be a levelling, down not up, as a result of applying it.
Even though this progressive ruling is a genuine step towards equality for women and men in employment, it will not in itself dissolve the deeper sociological and psychological barriers that obstruct its realisation. Because of differential life chances, access to desirable jobs, responsibility for child and home care, women have still a long way to go in achieving a genuine equality with men in many fields of employment. The results can be seen plainly in statistics of their relative pay levels, not only in Ireland but in many other developed states with a longer and better record on gender equality issues. Equal pay for equal work thus remains a valid and worthwhile objective. This ruling should enable a greater focus on finding a genuine equality of work through addressing the barriers that obstruct it. The issue deserves a better hearing than it is usually accorded in the Irish body politic, probably because of the gross under-representation of women in the Oireachtas and the higher echelons of public and private employment.