EU member states miss deadline for pay transparency directive

Only four EU member states—Italy, Lithuania, Malta, and Slovakia—had transposed the European Union's Pay Transparency Directive into national law by the June 7, 2026 deadline. The remaining 23 member states failed to meet this requirement, prompting the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) to urge immediate governmental action and potential infringement procedures by the European Commission. An analysis by the European Trade Union Institute indicates that the current 11% gender pay gap results in women earning €3,800 less annually than men on average. Collectively, the 92.5 million working women in the EU are losing over €358 billion annually due to this ongoing disparity. Furthermore, ETUC estimates that if transparency measures successfully reduced the gap by 10%, the 43 million women employed in companies covered by the directive would collectively gain €28 billion annually. The directive was established in 2023 to enforce the principle of equal pay for equal work and improve salary transparency. ETUC emphasizes that the failure to implement these rules sustains significant economic losses for female workers.