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Key date
1 May International Workers Day
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49 Practical Activities and Methods for Human
Rights Education > Different Wages |
Different Wages
Equal pay for equal work!
Themes |
Social rights, Gender
equality, Discrimination
and Xenophobia |
Complexity |
Level 2 |
Group size |
4+ |
Time |
90 minutes |
Overview |
This is a simulation that confronts people with the realities
of the labour market. It addresses issues of
- Different wages for the same job
- Discrimination in the workplace
- Policies of low pay for young workers
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Related rights |
- The right to fair remuneration
- The right to equal work and equal pay
- The right not to be discriminated against on the grounds
of age and sex
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Objectives |
- To confront participants with the realities of discrimination
in the workplace
- To analyse whether discrimination on the basis of age
and gender should be allowed or not
- To promote solidarity, equality and justice.
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Materials |
- 1 copy of the "Workers' wage rates"
- Labels, one for each participant / worker
- Pens
- Download Money (6 000
Ems per player) (In .PDF format, 134 kbytes).
Get Acrobat Reader
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Preparation |
- Prepare the labels. These should state the sex and
age of the workers. Use the list of workers' wage rates
for reference.
- Decide what work the participants will have to do.
Collect together any equipment they will need.
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Instructions
- Explain to the participants that they are workers and have
to do some work for their employer (you!). They should not worry;
everyone will be paid.
- Hand out the labels at random, one to each participant.
- Explain the task and make sure everyone knows what they have
to do.
- Let people get on with the work!
- When the tasks are all completed, ask people to line up (queue
up) to be paid. Pay each person according to their age and sex
as laid out in the list of workers' wage rates. You should count
the money out aloud so everyone can hear and all are aware of
how much each of the others is getting.
- If participants start to question or complain, give brief
"reasons", but avoid being drawn into discussion.
- You will have to use your own judgement about how far to
go, but stop when you believe it is beginning to get too heated!
Give everyone time to calm down and to get out of role, and
then sit in a circle for the debriefing.
Debriefing and evaluation
Take the discussion in stages. Start with a review of the simulation
itself:
- How did it feel to receive more (or less) than others workers
even though everyone did exactly the same task?
- Why did some people receive more (or less) than others? Why
did this happen?
- How did it feel to get more than others? How did it feel
to get less than others?
- Does this sort of discrimination happen in workplaces in
your country?
Next talk about remuneration on the basis of sex:
- Can different pay for the same job, when done by a man and
a woman, be justified? Why? Why not? When?
- What if a man does the job better than a woman? Is that reason
enough for paying the woman less?
- If a man is more qualified than the woman, does it follow
that he should be paid more?
- Do you think that there are jobs that should be done exclusively
by men? Why? Why not? If yes, which jobs?
- Do you think that there are jobs that should be done exclusively
by women? Why? Whynot? If yes, which jobs?
- Do you think that the practice of affirmative action (or
positive discrimination) can be justified in order to change
social attitudes?
Finally, go on to talk about remuneration on the basis of age:
- Is there a policy for different wages on the basis of age
in your country? If not, do you think there should be?
- What is the rationale for applying this kind of policy, especially
in the case of young people?
- What is your opinion about this type of policy? Is it good?
Bad? Necessary? Unnecessary? Give reasons.
Tips for facilitators |
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Right
to Fair Remuneration
International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, Article 7
"The States party to the present
Covenant recognise the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just
and favourable conditions of work, which ensure, in particular:
(a) Remuneration which provides all
workers, as a minimum, with:
(i) fair wages and equal remuneration
for work of equal value, without distinction of any kind, in particular
women being guaranteed conditions of work not inferior to those
enjoyed by men, with equal pay for equal work.".
European Social Charter Article 7
(5)
The right of children and young persons
to protection of fair remuneration for young workers and apprentices.
Article 8 (3)
The right of employed women to protection
for non-discrimination between men and women workers in respect
of remuneration. |
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When you are paying out and have to give explanations for the
different salaries, you will have to think up "reasons".
They can be grounded in what actually happened or they can be
ridiculous. For example:
- Someone who stumbled gets less
- Someone who smiled and looked happy gets more
- It's Tuesday!
The information below, and the background information in chapter
5 will help you to be a resource person during the discussions.
Variations
If you do not feel it appropriate to do this activity as a simulation
you could adapt the information to use as a basis for discussion.
You could create a 'fact sheet' for each worker with information
about the work they do, their age, sex and remuneration. You could
also include other details such as educational background and
professional experience. Alternatively, you could develop a few
in-depth case studies for different workers. However, you should
be aware that discussion alone will not stimulate the strong emotional
response that you get through the simulation.
Suggestions for follow-up
If the group enjoys role play and would like to explore the
role of trade unions in defending workers' rights for fair pay
and conditions, you may like to do the activity "Trade
union meeting".
Another activity designed to provoke reaction against inequality is "The rules of the game", which you will find in the all different all equal education pack . You may like to do it as a means of reviewing what people have learnt and how their behaviour has changed as a result of doing the "Different wages" activity. For example, people can compare their reactions to the second 'unfair' situation in "The rules of the game" with their responses to the situation in "Different wages".
Further Information
The issues about inequality of workers' remuneration are different
in different countries and also different depending on whether
the issue is age or sex discrimination. Discrimination on a gender
basis is nothing more than evidence of discrimination against
women. Historically, women have been disadvantaged in the social,
political and economic spheres. Examples of discrimination against
women in the workplace include discrimination during the selection
and interviewing of job applicants, discrimination in relation
to promotion prospects and the fact that, on average, they get
lower wages than men. It is a violation of the right to fair remuneration
when women receive less than men do for doing the same job.
As workers, young people should also receive fair remuneration.
However, here the situation is complex and differs from country
to country. In general, the unemployment rate for young people
is higher than for adults.
Although the principle of equal work for equal pay is generally
upheld, youth remuneration is often held to be a special case
and many countries have policies that allow young workers' to
be paid less than an adult for the same job. These policies are
justified on two grounds. On the one hand, there is the aim to
discourage young people from entering the labour marker and to
encourage them to stay at school to gain a good education. On
the other hand, it should still be attractive for employers to
hire inexperienced and low-skilled young workers, especially the
ever-increasing numbers of school drop-outs, who otherwise would
be "loose on the streets", getting into trouble and
being a burden on the state. The application of this kind of policy
and its success in decreasing youth unemployment varies from country
to country.
The European Committee of Social Rights (the implementation
body of the European Social Charter) does not view low pay for
young people as incompatible with the guarantee of a fair wage
so long as the difference is reasonable and the gap closes quickly.
For example, a wage 30% lower than the adult starting wage is
seen as acceptable for fifteen to sixteen-years-olds. However,
for sixteen to eighteen-year-olds, the difference may not exceed
20%.
Youth wages are not always low. In fact there are a lot of well
educated young people who earn a lot of money - too much in the
eyes of some people! For example, young people flourish in the
sectors based on new technologies and receive far higher remuneration
than older workers who are close to retirement age. |
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