Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has vowed to close the gender pay gap at the union
(Picture: PA Media)The boss of the UK’s largest union Unite has vowed to close the widening gender pay gap at the organisation and said the days of “explaining away” the inequality are over.
The latest gender pay gap report from the union revealed that the mean pay gap”for its 1,072 employees had increased by 0.6 per cent in the past year in favour of men, despite the trade union’s stance on gender equality in the workplace.
Sharon Graham, who has held the post of general secretary of Unite since August last year, said she was actively fighting for gender pay equality at the union, despite the findings of the report.
“I was elected in 2021 to do what it says on the trade union tin – to fight for jobs, pay and conditions and to take equalities into the heart of our members’ workplaces. That applies to Unite as an employer, as much as to any other,” Graham said.
Unite promised an end to “warm words and hand-wringing” on the subject.
On average men get paid 18.3% more at the union. 68.7% of its best paid jobs done by men, although this is a reduction of 6.3% on the previous year.
Unite said it was “actively working to appoint a number of women to senior positions and has now set up development centres aimed at talking to women members regarding their career progression.”
A statement from Unite said: “We have a gap and it needs to be closed. Sharon is establishing the processes right across our union that will support our talented women staff to come forward into more senior posts.
“This is action that will make a genuine difference, not the warm words and hand-wringing that do not.”
