ZAGREB, 22 May (Hina) – Croatia’s gender pay gap for the same work stands at 6.6% in favour of men, Labour Minister Alen Ružić said on Friday, expressing confidence that amendments to the Labour Act would help reduce wage inequality between men and women.

“I expect a major step forward in reducing pay differences for the same work,” Ružić said, referring to amendments aimed at transposing the European Union’s Pay Transparency Directive into Croatian legislation.

“We want to ensure that work of equal value is paid equally,” he said.

He noted that the gender pay gap at EU level exceeds 11% in favour of men.

The amendments to the Labour Act are expected to introduce greater pay transparency and strengthen employees’ rights to information on salary-setting criteria and gender-based pay differences.

Under the proposed changes, employers would be required to disclose salary ranges in job advertisements and allow employees insight into the criteria used to determine pay and promotions. Larger employers would also be obliged to report pay gaps between men and women in comparable positions.

The deadline for implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive is 7 June.