Public and Commercial Services Union

 

There is sharp gender segregation within DfT
 

Using data in a PQ (28 February 2008, Column 1841W of the Record) we have produced the following table:

 

As you can see DVLA, has the highest percentage of female staff; it is the only agency to have a majority of women working in it; all the other parts of the department have a majority of men. 

Pay rates in DVLA compared to others in DfT

In DVLA 91% of all staff are concentrated into the three lowest civil service grades:  AA (Administrative Assistant), AO (Administrative Officer) and EO (Executive Officer).

The below table compares the current DVLA pay maximums (source 2007 DVLA pay settlement) with the best pay maximums for those grades in DfT (source PQ, 3 Mar 2008 : Column 2041W).

Grade            DVLA           Best In DfT

AA                  14,361            16,141
AO                  17,010            19,853
EO                  22,300            26,099

 

We think there is a link between the concentration of women in DVLA and that agency's low pay. Certainly any organisation that cares for fairness and equality would investigate whether there was such a link.

What is happening

DfT is refusing to carry out a gender impact assessment that includes an assessment of the impact of its current HR policies and practices, to review its pay policy or to carry out a cross-departmental equal pay review.

DfT's position is that it will only carry out equal pay reviews within each of the eight bargaining units that are in DfT.

Logical conclusion of DfT's position

The problem with this approach is that DfT is acting as though the gender duty does not fall on it as a public authority; rather the department's stance seems to imply that the duty falls on each separate bargaining unit.

Further by just looking within each bargaining unit it ignores the clear gender segregation that exists within the department as a whole. Carrying out an equal pay audit within DVLA will show (we hope) that men and women are being treated equally. Only by comparing DVLA to the other parts of DfT does the gender and pay segregation come to light.

Imagine if all the women in the department were put into one bargaining unit; all men into another and the women given lower pay for work that was of equal value to that of the men. Following DfT's reasoning the equal pay reviews would be confined to within each bargaining unit and therefore this gross gender segregation would not be picked up or examined.

Earlier we stated that any organisation that cares for fairness and equality would investigate whether there was a link between the concentration of women in DVLA and wages in that agency. Given DfT's continual refusal to even investigate gender and pay segregation in the department we conclude that DfT is indifferent to fairness and equality.

Conclusion

We do not believe that the drafters of the gender duty envisaged that a public authority would behave as DfT has. We assume though that DfT did not act on its own but has cleared its actions and approach to equal pay reviews and the gender duty with the Cabinet Office. Hence the DfT approach appears to be that of the civil service.

The Crown should be acting as an exemplar; not showing other employers ways to dodge the consequence of the gender duty; not ignoring gender and pay segregation.

In our view the current civil service/DfT stance is not compatible with the gender duty (word and spirit). That is why we are taking legal action.