On Sunday, 7 June 2026, the deadline for Member States to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive into national law expired. Only three Member States have done so on time. Many other countries are still struggling to even find a basic consensus on how to translate its provisions into their national systems.

Employers in the Metal, Engineering and Technology-based (MET) industries support the objective of the principle of equal pay for equal work regardless of gender. This commitment is already since long reflected in the Collective Agreements we negotiate through social dialogue with our trade union counterparts at national level. Our members remain fully dedicated to closing the gender pay gap and advancing labour market equality. Tackling the gender pay gap is as much an economic necessity as it is a moral one.

However, the current state of transposition of the Pay Transparency Directive speaks for itself.

The delays across Member States are a direct consequence of the Directive’s unprecedented complexity, which creates a disproportional heavy administrative and unbalanced legal burden on companies, that Member States and companies alike find extremely difficult to navigate.

Crucially, even reaching agreement at national level does not mark the end of the road. Companies must then implement these new rules in practice, and for most businesses, particularly SMEs, the requirements as currently drafted are simply not implementable. Without workable rules, the Directive risks becoming a source of legal uncertainty rather than a driver of genuine pay equality. The Commission’s own 150-page Toolkit, intended as guidance for companies, is itself a testament to the Directive’s overwhelming complexity. If this is the simplified roadmap, it is difficult to see how SMEs with limited resources are expected to navigate the full scope of implementation.

Ceemet therefore calls on the European Commission to extend the deadlines for transposition and implementation of the Directive. This is essential to recalibrate the current provisions and to:

• Simplify requirements so that they are proportionate and workable for SMEs and large enterprises alike, as well as recalibrate the heavy (criminal) penalties and sanctions for companies,
• Respect national industrial relations systems, allowing for meaningful integration of existing collective bargaining frameworks and national practices by introducing the legal presumption of compliance of gender equality for all existing and future collective agreements,
• Empower social partners, ensuring that employers and trade unions can lead implementation of equality in full respect and acknowledgement of the principle that it is and remains solely the management of a company that decides on the salary policy within their company.

Delivering quality jobs and fair pay is a shared objective. To achieve this, businesses need clear, workable legislation and legal certainty. The European Commission must provide such a legal framework, together with a strong competitiveness agenda. This is the only way to make real progress on closing the gender gap while supporting economic growth.