The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved by 325 votes in favor and 36 against a bill that provides for equal pay between men and women presented by Lula da Silva.
The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved this Thursday, by 325 votes in favor and 36 againsta bill introduced by the Government providing for equal pay for men and women performing the same role.
The initiative, presented by the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, still in the electoral campaign, also depends on the approval of the plenary session of the Senate to enter into force.
The project presented by the Government of Lula da Silva had as rapporteur in the Chamber of Deputies of the Brazilian Congress Deputy Jack Rocha, from the Workers’ Party (PT), and was quickly and easily approved in plenary session after an agreement between the leaders from all parties.
According to Rocha, the text guarantees equal pay for women and men who perform work of equal value or in the exercise of the same function.
“It is one more step with which we advance in the face of inequalities [de género] in the work environment, which deepened during the covid-19 pandemic,” said the PT deputy.
The project modifies the so-called Consolidation of Labor Laws, which dates from 1943 and brings together all Brazilian labor legislation, to establish the obligation of equal pay.
The new legislation created transparency and payment mechanisms that companies must follow, monitoring tools to ensure compliance, and sets heavy administrative fines for those who break the law.
According to the text, in case of proven salary discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, origin or age, in addition to paying the salary differences, the employer must pay administrative fine equivalent to ten times the value of the new salary due to the discriminated employee. The fine will be doubled in case of recidivism.
Shortly after the approval of the project in the Chamber of Deputies, Lula da Silva praised the parliamentarians, during a speech at the installation ceremony of the Council for Sustainable Economic and Social Development.
Last Monday, during an initiative with trade unionists on the occasion of International Labor Day, the Brazilian president stated that his government’s measure aims to guarantee “for the first time, without commas or periods, that women earn the same salary as men”. if it performs the same function.
According to the official statistics that served as the basis for the discussion of the project, women, despite representing 51.1% of the Brazilian population and having a higher educational level (19.4% completed higher education compared to 15.1 % of men), earn less than their peers.
In addition to occupying fewer leadership positions (37.4% of the total), Brazilian women receive an average salary equivalent to 77.7% of the amounts paid to men who hold the same position.
Source: Observadora
