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Making it Fair

Report from the House of Representatives Standing Committee and Workplace Relations

Pay equity and associated issues related to increasing female participation in the workforce.

The Report of the Inquiry is comprehensive and makes recommendations that, if adopted, will restore the importance of the industrial system to advancing pay equity.

The Report provides valuable information on the position of women in the workforce and makes sixty-three recommendations. Our input of submissions and appearances and our input into other submissions by National Pay Equity Coalition and Women’s Electoral Lobby have made a great contribution to the Report and it’s recommendations.

`The issue of continued gender wage inequality undermines fundamental values in our society which deems that discrimination is intolerable and unlawful. Failure to take measures to redress gender wage inequality ignores discrimination which not only results in Australia’s economic loss but comes at a personal economic and social cost to women and their equal sharing of the benefits of our society’. CPSU-SPSF quoted page 60 of the Report.

A summary of significant recommendations follows:-

Industrial relations legislative reforms:

A clear and explicit definition of equal remuneration for work of equal or comparable value in the Fair Work Act 2009.

The President of Fair Work Australia enunciate an equal remuneration principle.

The Government establish a discretionary fund administered by the Attorney General for the provision of funding of cases.

A consistent definition of `work value’ and inclusion of work historically undervalued on a gender basis.

That the Government elevate pay equity to be a clear intention in modern awards, modernization and review.

Expand scope of, variation and amendment of awards on work value grounds to explicitly include pay equity. Applying concepts of gender neutral work valuation and require FWA to be satisfied that the award satisfies pay equity criteria.

That the AIRC report to the Committee prior to finalisation of awards in the modernisation process in relation to how pay equity principles have been achieved.

FWA to report to Parliament within its annual reporting process on any changes to awards and the impact on pay equity.

That the FWA be amended to impose a legal obligation on parties in negotiation to include bargaining for pay equity.

That the Australian Government place on the COAG agenda the consideration of complementary legislation to all equal remuneration matters dealt with by FWA in each jurisdiction.

That FWA be amended to require the President of Fair Work Australia to state explicitly the appropriate principle and to give direction on how equal remuneration is to be handled.

That a specialist Pay Equity Unit be established within FWA and that a Deputy President be assigned with responsibility.

That the Deputy President appoint an Advisory Board comprising government agencies, union and employee representatives.

Federal public sector organisations required to report biennially to the Pay Equity Unit.

All organisations with 100 employees or more be required to report.

Disclosure of aggregate wages and salary information acquired under Taxation law to the Pay Equity Unit.

Other recommendations:

Strengthening of Contract Procurement provisions.

Removal of superannuation exemption for employees who earn less than $450.00 a month.

Government to provide a long service leave scheme providing portability for service workers.

Strengthening of reporting and delivery of policies in the APS.

Much more rigorous data collection and a National Pay Equity Workplace Survey.

The Report is significant in that it reiterates the importance of the industrial system at a time when many have argued that pay equity is best achieved by informal processes.

Many of our recommendations have been adopted in this Report and we at the Federal Office are now working to have these proposals acted upon.

A further development on the pay equity issue is that Minister Gillard has also given support to the ASU running a test case which follows on from the SACS case determined in Queensland in May. We are also awaiting the report from the Review of the Equal Opportunity in the Workplace Agency and Act.

The full report can be downloaded at www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ewr/payequity/report.

Please contact Sue Hammond at the Federal Office for further details.

Sue Hammond

Federal Office Melbourne