The Minister of Labor and Employment, Luiz Marinho, stated, this Tuesday (30), that companies that omit data on wage equality will have “a specialized look” from the department’s inspection area. “If they want attention, they will get attention,” he said, during a press conference to present data from the General Register of Employed and Unemployed People (Novo Caged).
Marinho commented on the Federal Court’s decision that released some segments, such as pharmacies and universities, from disclosing information on salary transparency and remuneration criteria provided for in the regulation of the Equal Pay Law. “If there’s something to hide, let’s look. So, these [empresas] will have our attention. And there are so few of them that they await our attention. But they can still, if they want, go back. We are open to dialogue. Those segments that do not seek us out for dialogue will receive a visit from the inspector to observe what they want to hide”, he said, remembering that the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), of 1943, provides for inspections of labor standards.
According to the ministry, of the approximately 50 thousand companies that fall under the law, less than 300 received authorization to omit data. “We are talking about an insignificant number from a quantitative point of view,” he said, praising companies that are “understanding the spirit of the law and are collaborating” with public policy.
“The vast majority of companies responded to the data, so I would like to thank the vision of the vast majority, overwhelming majority of our employers who responded calmly, seriously, to the information we were asking for,” he said. “It draws attention to those who are resisting, resorting to the Judiciary, that perhaps this is not the best path. If there is a problem, we analyze, talk, build, especially because our vision is not to fine, punish, anything, quite the opposite, it is to build on women’s right to have equal pay”, he added.
The Equal Pay Law, sanctioned in July last year, makes equal pay mandatory between men and women when they perform equivalent work or the same function. The rules apply to companies with 100 or more employees and that have headquarters, branches or representation in Brazil.
Last month, the national confederations of Industry (CNI) and Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC) filed a direct action of unconstitutionality in the Federal Supreme Court against the Law on Equal Pay between genders. The action, which has not yet been decided, requests a precautionary measure to suspend the effects of some of the provisions, including the one that determines the disclosure of salary transparency reports, explaining the criteria for payments. The confederations claim that there is a risk of disclosing individualized data, which would violate the right to privacy.
However, according to Minister Luiz Marinho, transparency data is not individualized, “therefore there is no reason for this resistance”.
In the action, the entities claim that they do not intend to question the principle of equality, but “the need to adapt the law, so that legitimate and objective inequalities, such as time in the role and in the company, and the technical perfection of the work, are not considered as gender discrimination.” They also argue that the requirement to disclose a salary transparency report and apply sanctions for any case of difference in pay are unfair, and justify that career plans in the corporate world go beyond gender issues.
According to Luiz Marinho, transparency about equal pay will be one of the topics to be addressed by the government as part of the celebrations of May 1st – Labor Day. “It is necessary to draw the attention of the business world to the need for companies to work with a humanist vision in relation to the needs and respect for human rights, of men and women, particularly in this debate, of women”, he said.
