2 BE DIFFERENT ( AND , IF SO , IN WHAT RESPECTS ) IF IT WERE SHOWN THAT A CONSIDERABLY SMALLER PROPORTION OF FEMALE WORKERS THAN OF MALE WORKERS IS ABLE TO PERFORM THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF HOURS EACH WEEK REQUIRED TO QUALIFY FOR THE FULL HOURLY RATE OF PAY?
4.ARE THE RELEVANT PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 119 OF THE EEC TREATY OR ARTICLE 1 OF THE SAID DIRECTIVE , AS THE CASE MAY BE , DIRECTLY APPLICABLE IN MEMBER STATES IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE PRESENT CASE?
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FIRST THREE QUESTIONS
9 IT APPEARS FROM THE FIRST THREE QUESTIONS AND THE REASONS STATED IN THE ORDER MAKING THE REFERENCE THAT THE NATIONAL COURT IS PRINCIPALLY CONCERNED TO KNOW WHETHER A DIFFERENCE IN THE LEVEL OF PAY FOR WORK CARRIED OUT PART-TIME AND THE SAME WORK CARRIED OUT FULL-TIME MAY AMOUNT TO DISCRIMINATION OF A KIND PROHIBITED BY ARTICLE 119 OF THE TREATY WHEN THE CATEGORY OF PART-TIME WORKERS IS EXCLUSIVELY OR PREDOMINANTLY COMPRISED OF WOMEN .
10 THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTIONS THUS UNDERSTOOD IS THAT THE PURPOSE OF ARTICLE 119 IS TO ENSURE THE APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUAL PAY FOR MEN AND WOMEN FOR THE SAME WORK . THE DIFFERENCES IN PAY PROHIBITED BY THAT PROVISION ARE THEREFORE EXCLUSIVELY THOSE BASED ON THE DIFFERENCE OF THE SEX OF THE WORKERS . CONSEQUENTLY THE FACT THAT PART-TIME WORK IS PAID AT AN HOURLY RATE LOWER THAN PAY FOR FULL-TIME WORK DOES NOT AMOUNT PER SE TO DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED BY ARTICLE 119 PROVIDED THAT THE HOURLY RATES ARE APPLIED TO WORKERS BELONGING TO EITHER CATEGORY WITHOUT DISTINCTION BASED ON SEX .
11 IF THERE IS NO SUCH DISTINCTION , THEREFORE , THE FACT THAT WORK PAID AT TIME RATES IS REMUNERATED AT AN HOURLY RATE WHICH VARIES ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF HOURS WORKED PER WEEK DOES NOT OFFEND AGAINST THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUAL PAY LAID DOWN IN ARTICLE 119 OF THE TREATY IN SO FAR AS THE DIFFERENCE IN PAY BETWEEN PART-TIME WORK AND FULL-TIME WORK IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO FACTORS WHICH ARE OBJECTIVELY JUSTIFIED AND ARE IN NO WAY RELATED TO ANY DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEX .
12 SUCH MAY BE THE CASE , IN PARTICULAR , WHEN BY GIVING HOURLY RATES OF PAY WHICH ARE LOWER FOR PART-TIME WORK THAN THOSE FOR FULL-TIME WORK THE EMPLOYER IS ENDEAVOURING , ON ECONOMIC GROUNDS WHICH MAY BE OBJECTIVELY JUSTIFIED , TO ENCOURAGE FULL-TIME WORK IRRESPECTIVE OF THE SEX OF THE WORKER .
13 BY CONTRAST , IF IT IS ESTABLISHED THAT A CONSIDERABLY SMALLER PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN THAN OF MEN PERFORM THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF WEEKLY WORKING HOURS REQUIRED IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO CLAIM THE FULL-TIME HOURLY RATE OF PAY , THE INEQUALITY IN PAY WILL BE CONTRARY TO ARTICLE 119 OF THE TREATY WHERE , REGARD BEING HAD TO THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY WOMEN IN ARRANGING TO WORK THAT MINIMUM NUMBER OF HOURS PER WEEK , THE PAY POLICY OF THE UNDERTAKING IN QUESTION CANNOT