CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE FOR YOUR HARD WORK
The ruling by the full bench of Fair Work Australia on pay equity for social and community sector workers is a landmark in the fight for equal pay for women.
ACTU President Ged Kearney said the decision ended decades of undervaluation of the work of women in the sector.
“Unions worked hard to fight this case on behalf of 150,000 Australian workers who do this very important, yet clearly undervalued work,” Ms Kearney said.
“This is an historic decision on the path to pay justice for women.
“The decision to properly value the work of the majority female workforce who look after the homeless, the disabled, refugees, domestic violence victims, children at risk and other vulnerable people in our society is a credit to workplace reforms introduced by the Labor Government.
“The Fair Work Act replaced a draconian set of laws that took away the rights of Australian workers.
Today’s ruling is a clear indication of why we need good, fair laws in place so that all Australian workers can receive fair pay and conditions.
“This shows the equal remuneration provisions in the Act are delivering on the promise of equal pay, which is a workplace right and a human right. But the ruling would not have been possible without the dedication of community sector workers and their unions in the face of staunch opposition from employers.
“However, the reality is this decision can only flow through to the pay packets of these workers if all governments contribute their share.
“The Federal Labor Government has shown enormous leadership here, fully awarding its share of the funding, with a $2 billion commitment. Now those state and territory governments who have not already committed to their share must do so.
“It is not okay to pay one group of workers less than another doing work of comparable value and today’s ruling merely confirms this.
“This is difficult and demanding work, yet this female-dominated industry is one of the lowest paid in Australia because it has been historically viewed as ‘women’s work’.
“This has been a major reason why the gender pay gap remains at 18%, despite the right to equal pay for equal work being enshrined in law several decades ago.”
Fair Work Australia’s ruling will mean social and community sector workers will receive pay increases of between 23% and 45% over the next eight years, beginning on 1 December.
Equal Pay Commitment Historic Day For Women Workers
Decades of undervaluation of a predominately female workforce will be overcome following the Government's historic commitment to fund pay rises for 150,000 social and community sector workers.
The announcement by the Prime Minister was a landmark day for the thousands of social and community sector (SACS) workers, who do important but traditionally undervalued work for the community's benefit.
The commitment from the government to fund its share of pay rises, averaging 20% and up to 33% in some cases, is an historic milestone on the road towards true equal pay.
Read more
Women who have been traditionally underpaid are a step closer to achieving wage justice thanks to Fair Work Australia’s landmark recognition of the need for equal pay for the nation’s social and community sector workers.
ACTU President Ged Kearney said the preliminary decision was a win for unions representing Australia’s social and community sector workers, who do important but undervalued work for the benefit of the wider community.
“Equal pay is a workplace right and a human right, so unions welcome Fair Work Australia’s acknowledgement that gender has contributed to the pay gap between the SACS industry and comparable state and local government employment,” Ms Kearney said.
“FWA’s preliminary ruling is a milestone in seeking wage justice for women in all lines of work across Australia.
“Fair Work Australia has recognised the merits of the unions’ claim – now the discussion can move onto deciding the amount of a long overdue pay rise. We welcome the opportunity for unions and other interested parties to present more information to the tribunal before it will make a final decision.”
The ruling comes after the test case in FWA on behalf of about 200,000 workers in the female-dominated SACS sector.
In the test case before the Full Bench of FWA, unions have sought to use the equal remuneration principles in the Fair Work Act to lift the wages of workers who have historically been underpaid because the work has been undervalued because it is often characterised as female work.
“The case is the first to test the new pay equity provisions of the Fair Work Act, which acknowledge the right of men and women to be paid equally for work of comparable value,” Ms Kearney said.
“We are talking about workers who are mostly women and who look after the homeless, the disabled, refugees, domestic violence victims, children at risk and other vulnerable people in our society.”
“This is difficult and demanding work, yet this female-dominated industry is one of the lowest paid in Australia because it has been historically viewed as ‘women’s work’. The skills and professional judgement of these 200,000 workers deserve to be recognised and properly valued.
“The awarding of equal pay will help establish a standard for other industries and that is a win for the hundreds of thousands of workers right around Australia whose work has been undervalued for too long.”
The ACTU will lodge a further submission with FWA before the full bench of the tribunal meets to again consider the case on 8 August.
Equal Pay and Better Jobs for Women
Women doing the same job as men are supposed to be paid the same by law. However, many women still find themselves underpaid and too often miss out on the best jobs, resulting in a 18% gender pay gap. Unions believe everyone’s work should be valued properly. In 2011 closing the pay gap and providing more opportunities for working women are major priorities.
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Equal Pay group and contribute to the conversation about this important campaign
Valuing women’s work
Unequal pay or “pay inequity” can be measured in two ways. First, as a direct comparison between a male and female employee doing the same work but earning a different salary, including penalty rates, overtime and bonuses.
Secondly, it is measured by the difference in pay between industry sectors with a greater value placed on some types of work compared with others.
Traditionally, industries with a majority of female workers have attracted lower pay rates than male-dominated industries.
This difference in “value” is partly historical, emanating from a time when women were not regarded as “breadwinners” nor welcome in most parts of the workforce. “Women’s work” was, and still is, a term used to downplay the value of women’s skills.
Male-dominated industries have also traditionally been more industrially organized, with better pay and conditions hard won through decades of negotiation, disputes and legal rulings.
These historic differences and attitudes are still reflected in the pay packets of women and practices of many workplaces today, resulting in a persistent wage gap that remains stuck at 18% in 2010.
Facts
- Women in full-time paid work still earn 18% less than men or 1 million dollars less over a lifetime
- Women are now more likely to have a tertiary qualification than men, but women graduates will earn $2000 less than male graduates and $7500 less by the fifth year after graduation
- Fewer than 2% of ASX 200 companies have a female CEO and only 1 in 12 board directors are women
- Women retire with less than half the amount of savings in their superannuation accounts compared with men
- Under the former Coalition Government’s WorkChoices laws, the pay gap widened for the first time in 25 years, as thousands of women lost penalty rates and other important job conditions and minimum wages were cut in real terms.
Equal Pay Case 2010
A landmark equal pay case by unions is also underway this year to secure equal pay for women that work in the social and community services sector.
These workers look after the homeless, the disabled, children at risk, the elderly and other vulnerable people in our society. Yet they are among the lowest paid workers in Australia, largely because their work has been historically viewed as “women’s work”.
The case will be the first to test the new equal pay provisions of the Fair Work Act and unions hope it will help establish an equal pay standard for other industries.
Equal Pay Alliance
Women now make up half the Australian workforce. They are more skilled, more educated and taking up jobs at a faster rate than at any other time in Australia’s history. Yet their work remains undervalued. Even now in 2010, full-time working women still earn 18% less than men.
The newly formed Equal Pay Alliance represents 150 Australian organisations and thousands of women across business, unions and community groups who have joined together to actively seek and support practical action to end decades of inequity. Read more on how to
join the alliance.
Review of the Equal Pay laws
In 2010, there will be recommendations from several government reviews and parliamentary inquiries identifying barriers holding women back from earning, saving and being valued equally at work.
Removing the barriers requires concrete action. The Equal Pay Alliance will campaign for the following:
- More flexible work arrangements
- Accessible, affordable, good quality out-of-school care and childcare
- Reporting and auditing of equal pay by government agencies
- Valuation and proper funding of wages for work traditionally carried out by women
- More opportunities to build skills and participate in the workforce, especially for mothers and older women
Other Important Sites To Visit
Respect in Disability
Because We Care
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Equal Pay Day