Welcoming the consultation launched by the Department of Trade and Industry into how the EU Equal Treatment Amendment Directive is to be incorporated into UK law, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
The new Directive will give a welcome boost to the rights of working women, and make it easier for them to prove that they have been discriminated against. Work for many women still means they lose out in the pay stakes, get treated unfairly when they are pregnant and have to work in macho environments where they are subjected to material and banter of an offensive nature.
I hope that the consultation process does not lead to a watering down of the Directive, particularly when it comes to trying to prove sexual harassment. Recent legal judgements have found for the women because their male colleaguesí behaviour was deemed to be íunwarranted... conduct of a sexual natureí. The Government must ensure that the Directiveís similarly strong definition of sexual harassment is the one that finds its way into UK law.
New European law to improve rights for working women
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