A decision has now come down from Fair Work Australia (FWA) on the historic Australian Services Union (ASU) equal pay case. There were some significant gains in the ruling; with FWA finding that social and community service workers are underpaid and that gender has been an important, though not the sole, factor in this gap. There is, however, still a long way to go. FWA has called for more submissions to demonstrate what proportion of the pay gap in these industries is a result of gender and what the pay increase should be.

FWA’s ruling is an important gain in the fight for gender pay equity; recognising the undervaluation of workers in these highly feminised industries. FWA ‘concluded that for employees in the SACS industry there is not equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal or comparable value by comparison with workers in state and local government employment. We consider gender has been important in creating the gap between pay in the SACS industry and pay in comparable state and local government employment.‘

Significantly FWA ruled that the ASU did not need to prove discrimination in order to demonstrate the validity of the claim and that it did not need to compare social and community service workers with male workers.

FWA has rejected ‘adopting the pay rates resulting from the Queensland Equal Remuneration decision‘ as inappropriate and is awaiting further submission to determine an appropriate increase. Applicants submissions are due 10^th June with the last day for other parties submissions set at 21^st July.

It is important to maintain pressure on the NSW government. On 8^th June WEL members will join social and community services workers, union members, community groups and more to rally for Equal Pay. Join us!

Read the FWA decision

More info from ASU

Taking into account the failure of the Australian Fair Pay Commission to make an adjustment in 2009, WEL has recommended that the Minimum Wage Panel grant an increase of 9 per cent in the minimum wage. Such an increase would help to restore a minimum rate that is fair and bears a reasonable relation to living standards in the wider Australian community.

WEL’s submission focuses on living standards, promoting social inclusion,  and the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal or comparable value.

The trade union movement has been preparing a landmark case to try to win pay rises for 200,000 women doing some of the nation’s most demanding jobs. The case will be launched today. If successful, it will mean sugnificant pay rises for women who work in women’s refuges, aged care facilities, community centres and counselling services.

The Government has expressed strong in principle support for the case, although it will have to bear much of the cost.

To address the pay equity gap in Australia for women a new report by the House of Representatives Employment and Workplace Relations Committee has recommended a raft of amendments to the Fair Work Act and Sex Discrimination Act.

The 465 page report Making it Fair makes 63 recommendations to federal government following an extensive parliamentary inquiry into pay equity and associated issues related to increasing female participation in the workforce.

“Australia needs to take a pro-active approach to address the gender pay gap,” Committee Chair Sharryn Jackson (Member for Hasluck, WA) said.
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WEL and the National Pay Equity Coalition made a joint submission to the review.  Click here for the full submission. The key points are as follows: 

 We have made significant progress in women’s employment since the introduction of the Affirmative Action Act and the Affirmative Action Agency (the Agency).
Progress has varied over time and stalled in some areas. Some changes reflect women’s improved levels of education and workforce experience. Others reflect changes in the regulatory environment – discrimination law, employment relations law, parental leave provisions, flexible work arrangements and so on.

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