Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1989, published 76th ILC session (1989)

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Australia (Ratification: 1973)

The Committee notes with interest the detailed information supplied by the Government.

1. Further to the general observation and the previous direct request, the Committee notes with interest the measures taken to provide for more effective federal award regulation of outworkers' wages. The modification of the Clothing Trades Award, by decision of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission of 7 April 1987, guarantees outworkers, who may still operate as independent contractors, the minimum award conditions which apply to factory workers, inter alia, in respect of rates of pay. The Committee notes also that in support of the above Commission's decision the Minister for Industrial Relations has established the tripartite national Clothing Industry Outwork Committee to monitor the implementation of the modifications to the Clothing Trades Award and application of those modifications to outworkers. It hopes that the Government will continue to supply information on the activity of the Clothing Industry Outwork Committee in connection with the rates of pay for outworkers.

2. The Committee notes with interest that, in the states of Victoria and of Western Australia, employees in various occupations (door-to-door salespersons, health studio instructors, male teachers in private boys' schools, farm workers, etc.) referred to in the previous report, now have award coverage. It hopes that the Government will continue to supply information on further progress made in the application of the Convention to all groups of workers as yet unprotected and whose coverage would be appropriate under the terms of the Convention.