BBC因男女不同酬面临人权调查

The BBC is facing a possible investigation by a UK human rights watchdog over its treatment of Carrie Gracie, who resigned as the broadcaster’s China editor on Sunday citing a “secretive and illegal pay culture” that systematically discriminated against women.

英国广播公司(BBC)可能因其给郭艾莉(Carrie Gracie)的待遇而受到英国人权监察机构的调查。郭艾莉在上周日辞去了BBC中国主编的职务，称BBC存在一种系统性歧视女性的“秘密且非法的薪酬文化”。

The Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has a mandate to challenge discrimination, said on Monday it was writing to the broadcaster seeking information on its pay policy and “the facts in this individual case”.

负责应对歧视现象的平等与人权委员会(Equality and Human Rights Commission)周一表示正向BBC致函，以咨询关于其薪酬政策和“这一个案有关事实”的信息。

“We will consider whether further action is required based on this information,” it added. “The new duty [on employers] to report on gender pay gaps from April is likely to expose more instances of unequal pay. All employers have a duty to do more to end discrimination and ensure they fully comply with equality law.”

“我们会依据所得信息考虑是否需要采取进一步行动。(雇主)从4月份起有一项新义务是报告男女薪酬差距，这可能暴露出更多不平等待遇的情况。所有雇主均有责任采取更多措施来停止歧视做法，并确保他们完全遵守平等法。”

Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, said in a blog on Monday that the union had lodged a grievance complaint with the BBC “on behalf of 121 women who work in a variety of roles and grades” at the broadcaster.

英国全国记者工会(National Union of Journalists)总干事米歇尔•斯坦尼斯特里特(Michelle Stanistreet)周一在一篇博客中表示，该工会已“代表121名在BBC从事各类岗位和各级工作的女性”对这家广播公司提出申诉。

She added the “lid had been lifted on the problem” after publication last July of BBC top stars’ remuneration, which was demanded by the government as part of renewal negotiations of the broadcaster’s royal charter. Of those paid more than £150,000, only a third were women.

她还表示自去年7月份BBC应政府要求——作为续签“皇家宪章”(Royal Charter，又称皇家特许状)协议的一部分——公布一线明星职员的薪酬后，“该问题的盖子已经被掀开”。收入15万英镑以上的员工名单中只有三分之一是女性。

A withering open letter by Ms Gracie to the BBC, released on Sunday, alleged her bosses were engaged in a divide and rule approach to female staff and pay.

上周末郭艾莉发表了一篇辛辣的致BBC公开信，声称她的上司们对女职员采取分而治之的态度，以及差别性薪酬待遇。

She said in an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour programme on Monday that she had been offered a £45,000 pay increase, lifting her remuneration from £135,000 to £180,000, but had turned it down.

她在星期一接受BBC广播四台(BBC Radio 4)的《女性时间》(Woman’s Hour)采访时表示，公司提议给她加薪4.5万英镑，将她的年薪从13.5万英镑提高到18万英镑，但她拒绝了。

“I was not interested in more money,” said Ms Gracie. “I was interested in equality and I kept saying to my managers that I didn’t need more money but I just needed to be made equal, and that can be done in a variety of ways.” She added salaries were “unacceptably high” for some BBC staff.

郭艾莉表示：“我感兴趣的不是赚更多的钱，而是平等。我一直对我的上司们说，我不需要更多钱，但我需要被平等对待，而这可以通过多种途径实现。”她还表示BBC部分员工的薪酬“高得令人发指”。

Unlike Jon Sopel, the North America editor, and Jeremy Bowen, the Middle East editor, Ms Gracie’s name did not appear on the list of BBC stars’ pay last summer because she received less than £150,000.

与BBC北美主编乔恩•索佩尔(Jon Sopel)和中东主编杰里米•鲍恩(Jeremy Bowen)不同，郭艾莉的名字没有出现在去年夏天公布的BBC明星员工收入名单中，因为她的收入不足15万英镑。

“[The BBC] said there were differences between roles which justified the pay gap, but it has refused to explain these differences,” said Ms Gracie in her letter.

郭艾莉在信中写道：“(BBC)说不同岗位之间存在差异，所以薪酬方面也有差距，但它拒绝阐明这些差异。”

A leading employment lawyer suggested Ms Gracie and other women in a similar position at the BBC could sue the broadcaster over its pay policy.

一位顶尖的劳务律师建议郭艾莉以及其他在BBC从事类似岗位的女性可以起诉这家广播公司的薪酬政策。

Jane Fielding, partner at Gowling WLG, said there “certainly looks like there is an arguable case” that the BBC may have breached the 2010 Equalities Act, which outlaws pay discrimination based on gender.

高林睿阁律师事务所(Gowling WLG)合伙人简•菲尔丁(Jane Fielding)表示，“看起来确有证据表明”BBC可能违反了2010年的《平等法》(Equalities Act)，该法禁止基于性别的薪酬歧视。

But she added “the type of dispute the BBC now faces on the back of Carrie Gracie’s call to arms, could happen to any employer. Queries about equal pay are on the increase as the deadline for gender pay gap reporting approaches.”

但她补充说：“BBC所面临的由郭艾莉的声讨引发的争议，可能发生在任何雇主身上。随着公布男女薪酬差距的最后期限接近，关于平等薪酬的质疑不断增加。”

One person close to the NUJ said that as part of a possible resolution with aggrieved female staff the BBC would have to consider pay reductions for some male employees where contracts allow.

一位接近英国全国记者工会的人士表示，为了与受到不公平对待的女员工达成可行解决方案，BBC可能不得不考虑在合同允许的情况下对一些男性雇员减薪。

The BBC would also need to look at freezing pay for some male staff, this person added, with greater transparency around remuneration and management given less discretion in setting salaries.

这位人士表示BBC还需要考虑冻结一些男性员工的薪酬，随着薪酬和管理的透明度越来越高，制定薪酬的自由度将越来越小。

Sue Ayton, an agent who has acted for BBC staff in the past, said: “I believe and I know there are really good people in senior management at the BBC who want to do something but they are up against a lot of people who are not convinced there needs to be change.”

曾为BBC员工服务的代理人苏•艾顿(Sue Ayton)说：“我相信，而且我知道BBC高层中有好人，他们想要做些事情，但遭到很多人反对，这些人不相信需要改变。”

One person close to the BBC said people should make their judgment “based on the facts and analysis” and wait until the broadcaster has published details of the pay of all its “on-air” presenters: a piece of work set to be released by the end of January.

一位与BBC关系密切的人士表示，人们应该“根据事实和分析”作出判断，等这家广播公司公布所有“直播”节目主持人的薪酬细节，该名单将于1月底发布。

“When people raise issues with us, if we are able to sort them out, we sort them out,” added this person.

这位人士表示：“当人们向我们提出问题的时候，如果我们能够解决，我们就解决。”

A BBC spokesperson said: “Fairness in pay is vital. A significant number of organisations have now published their gender pay figures showing that we are performing considerably better than many and are well below the national average [for the gender pay gap].

BBC的一位发言人表示：“工资平等至关重要。有相当数量的组织现在已公布了他们的性别薪资数据，从中可见我们的表现远胜许多组织，且男女薪酬差距远低于全国平均水平。”

“Alongside that, we have already conducted an independent judge-led audit of pay for rank-and-file staff which showed ‘no systemic discrimination against women’. A separate report for on-air staff will be published in the not too distant future.”

“此外，我们已对普通职员的薪酬进行了由独立法官主持的审计，结果显示‘不存在对女性的系统性歧视’。在不久的将来，另一份关于直播员工的报告也将公布。”

Damian Collins, chair of the Commons culture select committee, said “a lot more work needs to be done to ensure that men and women within broadcasting are paid equally ... it was right that the BBC published the pay of its highest-earning stars and managers”.

英国下院文化委员会主席达米安•柯林斯(Damian Collins)表示：“我们还需要做更多的工作来确保广播行业的男女同酬……BBC公布其收入最高的明星员工和管理人员薪酬的做法是正确的。”