Gender equality tops global agendas during the month of March. This edition spotlights what is new and what progress has been made globally on this issue.
We report on an analysis conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on telework from a gender perspective, the new law adopted by British Columbia on salary transparency, the recent report by the Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency as well as the Nigerian court decision on the gender discrimination of a law prohibiting female police officers (and not men as well) from having children outside marriage.
We also feature a new report from the International Labour Organizsation (ILO) in this edition. The report focuses on key workers and their role in the global economy, as well as two new tools to support member states and social partners in developing, formulating, implementing, financing, and reviewing employment policies. 2023 is the European Year of Skills, and we report the political agreement reached by EU Council and European Parliament that will now have to be formally adopted.
On the European front, we look at the European Whistleblowing Directive, which has finally been transposed in the Netherlands and Italy, with significant protection extensions for whistleblowers in both countries. At the same time, Spain is the first state in Europe to provide for the sick leave of female workers in the case of certified menstrual syndrome.
In France, the social partners have reached a crucial collective agreement on value sharing that the government has committed to transpose into law.
We report on an interesting development in Puerto Rico, where the 2022 labour reform was declared null and void by the Federal District Court, thus making the 2017 labour legislation applicable again. In addition, the Court of Justice clarified the nature and purpose of daily and weekly rest periods, which must be guaranteed.
We also report on the increase in the minimum wage and the earnings threshold in South Africa, with significant consequences on labour costs for companies.
Finally, we conclude with an example of a welfare plan offered to Sodexo employees worldwide, which aims to retain employees by providing them with personal, financial, and family well-being.