Responding to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), which shows that the full-time gender pay gap has increased to 17.1 per cent and the part-time gender pay gap to 36.6 per cent, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Today's shock increase in the gender pay gap makes the case for decisive action more pressing than ever.' This is an injustice for both women and men. As redundancies mount, more women may find themselves as the sole or main income earner. It's more important than ever that they are not underpaid for what they do.' The pay gap is even wider in the private sector at 21.7 per cent. The full-time gender pay has increased from 17 per cent in 2007 to 17.1 per cent in 2008. The part-time gender pay gap is currently 36.6 per cent. The pay gap in the private sector is 21.7 per cent, compared to 13.8 per cent in the public sector, a difference of 7.9 percentage points.
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