EQUAL PAY DAY CAMPAIGN

That this House believes that it is unacceptable that 40 years after the Equal Pay Act women working full-time in the UK still get paid 17.1 per cent. less than men; recognises it is the equivalent of men being paid all year round while women work for free after 30 October; supports the Equal Pay Day campaign organised by the Fawcett Society on 30 October to illustrate this fact; welcomes the Government's efforts to introduce new measures to tackle the gender pay gap in the Equality Bill, but agrees with UNISON and the Fawcett Society that more needs to be done; supports measures that move towards the introduction of representative actions which enable groups of employees to take action in discrimination cases rather than each woman working alone; and urges the Government Equalities Office and Ministry of Justice to work together to seize this important opportunity.