Germany's grand coalition agrees on pay equity between women, men

After lengthy disputes, the leaders of the grand coalition in Germany on Thursday agreed on a regulation for more pay equity between women and men.

The heads of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives (CDU/CSU) and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) agreed that employees in companies with more than 200 employees should be entitled to receive information whether they are paid unjustly, while companies with 500 or more employees must work towards equal pay and report on this.

SPD parliamentary leader Thomas Oppermann pointed out that women earned an average of 21 percent less than men in Germany.

Even if the structural disadvantages were calculated, wage discrimination was still seven percent.

"But that will change," said Oppermann.

According to Oppermann, a total of 14 million employees in Germany would be affected by the new regulation.

The aim of the project is to provide employers in Germany with more transparency on salary structures in the company through employers' disclosure obligations.

(APD)