13. Points out that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have warned of the social (in-work poverty) and economic (depressed internal demand) problems related to the wage devaluation that has occurred in recent years; stresses in this regard that an adequate wage policy is vital for maintaining internal demand, and that wage increases should therefore be better adapted to changes in productivity; maintains that there must be a reference to the importance of increasing wages, especially in countries where wages are below the poverty threshold, but it must be made with ...[+++]out undermining the subsidiarity principle; recalls that minimum wages differ substantially between Member States, and reiterates its request for a study on this issue, including an analysis of the differences in purchasing powers between Member States; encourages the Member States to set minimum wages in accordance with national legislation and practices and to consider their impact on in-work poverty, household income, aggregate demand and job creation;

13. Deplores in the strongest possible terms the fact that women do not receive the same salary in cases where they hold the same jobs as men or jobs of equal value, and condemns, equally, both horizontal and vertical segregation; emphasises, furthermore, the fact that the vast majority of low salaries and almost all very low salaries are paid for part-time work and points out that about 80 % of the working poor are women; points out that according to the European Added Value Assessment conclusions, a decrease of one percentage point in the gender gap in pay would bring about an increase of 0,1 % in economic growth, which means that it ...[+++] is crucially important to close the gap that exists in the current economic downturn; calls, therefore, on the Member States, employers and trade union movements to draft and implement serviceable, specific job evaluation tools to help determine work of equal value and thus ensure equal pay between men and women;

2. Stresses the damage to the economy and the individual stemming from the gender pay gap; stresses that the gender pay gap partially arises from the fact that sectors where women are over-represented often have lower salaries; urges stakeholders to make pay trends more transparent so as to avoid maintaining or widening pay gaps; calls on the Commission to revise the existing gender pay gap legislation (Directive 2006/54) as demanded by Parliament in its resolution of 13 March 2012; strongly urges the Commission and Member States to develop policies in cooperation with social partners to eradicate the gender pay gap that focus on the ...[+++] integration of women in the labour market and promote equal opportunities for mobility;

33. Urges the Member States to make pay trends more transparent, particularly by promoting collective bargaining, so as to avert continuing or widening pay gaps, including their implications for the accumulation of pensions in the Member State of origin and the host Member State and to take the necessary steps to bridge the wage gap; calls on the Commission to propose new measures to penalise and effectively reduce the pay gap between men and women and to monitor the correct application and effectiveness of Directive 2006/54/EC on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters ...[+++]of employment and occupation , as well as to revise the existing gender pay gap legislation (Directive 2006/54/EC) as demanded by Parliament in its resolution of 13 March 2012; strongly urges the Commission and Member States to develop policies, in cooperation with social partners to eradicate the gender pay gap, that focus on the integration of women in the labour market and promote equal opportunities for mobility;

33. Urges the Member States to make pay trends more transparent, particularly by promoting collective bargaining, so as to avert continuing or widening pay gaps, including their implications for the accumulation of pensions in the Member State of origin and the host Member State and to take the necessary steps to bridge the wage gap; calls on the Commission to propose new measures to penalise and effectively reduce the pay gap between men and women and to monitor the correct application and effectiveness of Directive 2006/54/EC on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters ...[+++]of employment and occupation, as well as to revise the existing gender pay gap legislation (Directive 2006/54) as demanded by Parliament in its resolution of 13 March 2012; strongly urges the Commission and Member States to develop policies, in cooperation with social partners to eradicate the gender pay gap, that focus on the integration of women in the labour market and promote equal opportunities for mobility;

Ireland cut salaries for new teachers by 13% in 2011 and those appointed after 31 January this year faced a further 20% drop in pay due to the abolition of qualification allowances.