Jeremy Corbyn has come under fire after refusing to reveal figures on a gender pay gap in the Labour Party.
Despite recently demanding that small businesses publish their own gender pay gap details, Corbyn has said he will not do the same, after a source claimed to have seen documents showing a 25-30% pay gap between men and women working in equivalent jobs within the party.
The news broke at the launch of Corbyn’s leadership campaign, yesterday, where he said he was “calling time on discrimination” and is committed to working towards all employers publishing details of pay.
At the launch he said: “We all know that change can take time but sometimes the delays cannot and will not be tolerated.
“We are more than 45 years on from the Equal Pay Act, 40 years on from when I was chasing down lost pay for women workers and still, still women are paid 20 per cent less than men. I’m making the commitment that the next Labour Government will require all employers to publish equality pay audits, detailing pay, grade and hours of every job, alongside data on recognised equality characteristics.”
Despite pledging to support gender equality in Parliament when he first became leader, Corbyn has since been criticised for failing to promote more women to senior positions.
A spokesman for Corbyn released a statement that said: “Staff salaries will be published by the Labour party under new short money rules.
“Before that happens, consent has to be sought from staff and trade unions have to be engaged in a process of consultation.”
