G. whereas one of the first steps taken by the Commission after the crisis addressed the issue of remuneration policy by complementing Commission Recommendations 2004/913/EC and 2005/162/EC, which aimed to ensure appropriate remuneration policy by setting out best practices for its design with a new recommendation as regards the regime for remuneration of directors of listed companies and by publishing a recommendation on remuneration policies in the financial services sector,

To this end, it deals with some aspects of the structure of the remuneration of directors and governance thereof.

For the purposes of Article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, benefits under occupational social security schemes shall not be considered as remuneration if and in so far as they are attributable to periods of employment prior to 17 May 1990, except in the case of workers or those claiming under them who have before that date initiated legal proceedings or introduced an equivalent claim under the applicabl ...[+++]e national law.

Although the concept of pay within the meaning of Article 141 of the Treaty does not encompass social security benefits, it is now clearly established that a pension scheme for public servants falls within the scope of the principle of equal pay if the benefits payable under the scheme are paid to the worker by reason of his/her employment relationship with the public employer, notwithstanding the fact that such scheme forms part of a general statutory scheme.

15. Calls on the Commission and the two sides of industry to formulate an overall strategy for bridging the gender pay gap; considers that, in addition to the review of job evaluation and classification systems, measures are also necessary regarding labour market organisation in general, new forms of employment including the increase in atypical forms of employment, the definition of 'pay' and the impact of the organisation of work on women's pay structures; asks the Commission to investigate best practices in the Member States and on this basis propose supporting strategies to bridge the pay gap;

11. Welcomes the Commission's plan to launch a Europe-wide campaign on equal pay in 2002 and urges the Commission to bring forward, in conjunction with this campaign, a proposal for revision and updating of Directive 75/117/EEC , paying sufficient attention to the issue of job classification and inserting a number of rules and criteria in an annex in order to ensure an objective gender-neutral evaluation system in accordance with a standard form as a means of narrowing the gender pay gap; asks the Commission in this connection to take account of the need for consistency with the provisions of the directives based on Article 13 of the Tr ...[+++]eaty, (Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC) and of the draft amending Directive 76/207/EEC ; urges the Commission to consider also what other type of measures or schemes might be introduced and by what methods for this purpose, including encouragement of the involvement of the social partners;