CALLS for equal pay after new figures reveal women earn £2.11 less per hour than men have been backed by Bolton MPs.

David Crausby, MP for Bolton North East, and Bolton West MP Julie Hilling slammed the results of research which shows women in the North West are being paid 82p for every pound a man earns.

It comes on Equal Pay Day – the day that women across the UK effectively start working for free due to the gender pay gap.

This year it fell on November 4 – three days earlier than in 2013.

Mr Crausby said it was unacceptable for women to still not receive an equal wage to men.

He said: “Equal pay is long overdue. Under David Cameron and Nick Clegg the pay gap is back on the rise after years of progress and we cannot allow this inequality to go unchallenged.

“ A Labour Government will take action by asking employers to publish their pay gap figures so that everyone can clearly see where the problem lies.”

Ms Hilling uncovered analysis which showed that in her constituency, women received on average 18p less an hour than men.

She said: “These shocking figures show the full extent of the gap in pay between men and women here in Bolton West – why are women here worth 18p per hour less than men?

“Women are working an extra three days for free this year because the pay gap is back on the rise under David Cameron’s watch.

“Women shouldn’t have to wait another 50 years for Equal Pay. That’s why I support Labour’s call for a vote in Parliament to get big companies to publish their pay gap. "

Figures show the gender gap closed by a third between 1997 and 2010 in the UK, before levelling off — and it is now on the rise.

The data was revealed by the Fawcett Society, a charity campaigning for women’s rights and equality.