Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Australia (Ratification: 1974)

The Committee notes the observations of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) of 22 September 2015.

Article 2 of the Convention. Gender pay gap. According to the ACTU, the most recent data on average weekly earnings collected in May 2015 shows that the gender pay gap is 17.9 per cent and that the gap has continued to grow in recent years. The Government acknowledges that there is a considerable pay gap, the causes of which are complex and influenced by a number of interrelated factors including workforce composition, differences in family/caring responsibilities and societal factors. It indicates that it is committed to improving the economic outcomes for women and increasing workforce participation rates. The Committee notes that, various initiatives have been undertaken with a view to closing the gender pay gap. These include: (i) a campaign promoting women in leadership, including the development of a toolkit containing practical suggestions and examples of workplace strategies to improve women’s representation and leadership in male-dominated roles in male-dominated industries; (ii) the development and twice yearly publication of Gender Indicators Australia by the Australian Bureau of Statistics; (iii) the collection of data in the Australian Workplace Relations Study (AWRS) and a follow-up conference to disseminate and discuss results; and (iv) a Jobs and Families package in the 2015–16 budget, following a review of the childcare system conducted by the Productivity Commission. The Committee welcomes the establishment of the Pay Equity Unit within the Fair Work Commission (previously Fair Work Australia), following a recommendation in the report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee entitled: “Making it Fair: Pay Equity and Associated Issues related to increasing female participation in the workforce (2013)”. The Pay Equity Unit commissioned the Equal Remuneration under the Fair Work Act 2009 report (2013–14), which explains key constructs, identifies the usefulness of materials for equal remuneration proceedings and directs parties to key resources which may be relevant to an equal remuneration case. The Pay Equity Unit has also provided support in 2013–14 in relation to the equal remuneration case for childcare workers. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WEGA) has also developed a wide range of resources, including benchmark reports, enabling relevant organizations to understand their relative performance on six gender equality indicators, and a pay gap calculator to assist organizations to conduct a payroll analysis and identify and analyse the causes of the various types of gender pay gaps. The Committee also notes that the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration has also recently established an Inquiry into Gender Segregation in the Workplace and its Impact on Women’s Equality, which is due to report on 30 March 2017. The Committee welcomes measures aimed at narrowing the gender pay gap but notes that it remains high, at 17.9 per cent. The Committee asks the Government to monitor the impact and effectiveness of the above initiatives and measures on the gender pay gap, and to continue providing information on measures taken with a view to closing the gender pay gap and their outcomes.

With regard to Western Australia, where (as the Government previously noted) the gender pay gap is even more pronounced, the Committee notes that in 2012, 2013 and 2014 the Western Australia Pay Equity Unit (PEU) prepared its annual series of reports informing the largest public sector agencies of their gender pay gap and recommending pay equity audits to redress any imbalance. The PEU also provides information, training and support to agencies wishing to undertake audits. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on how many agencies in Western Australia have undertaken pay equity audits as a result of the PEU’s recommendations, the findings of these audits, and any action taken as a result of these audits.

In relation to its previous comments requesting information about the impact of various initiatives undertaken in Queensland to attract and retain women in the minerals industry, and various surveys (including the Australian Institute of Minerals and Metallurgy Remuneration and Work Practices Survey Reports), the Committee notes the Government’s indication that no response was available from the Queensland Government. The Committee again requests the Government to provide information on the impact of initiatives to attract and retain women in the minerals industry, including the effect it has had on the gender pay gap in the industry. It also requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged as a follow-up to various surveys conducted.

Low-paid assisted bargaining and minimum wages. The Committee notes that the ACTU reiterates its concern that the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, relating to low-paid assisted bargaining are subject to significant limitations which impede the capacity of these provisions in practice to provide access to collective bargaining for low-paid workers and thereby limit their potential to promote equal remuneration for work of equal value because the majority of low-paid employees are women. The ACTU reiterates that amendments to the Fair Work Act are required to address this. The Government indicated that the post-implementation review report of the Fair Work Act 2009, published in August 2012, stated that as the low-paid bargaining provisions are in their infancy, it is not yet possible to assess their effectiveness in meeting their objectives. In the same report, in response to concerns raised by an employee organization regarding the first decision of the Fair Work Commission to issue a low-paid authorization that excluded employers who already had an enterprise agreement, the review stated “that [the Fair Work Commission] has discretion as to whether to include employers to which agreements have already applied [in a low-paid authorisation]”. The Committee also notes that The Workplace Relations Framework, Final Report, (Volume 2, page 996) of the Productivity Commission released in December 2015 refers to OECD evidence that countries like Australia with flexible wage-setting arrangements show increased wage dispersion. While observing that the low-paid bargaining provisions are one of the few instances in Australia where multi-employer bargaining is allowed, the Productivity Commission cited without further comment the view that “current evidence seems to suggest that the low paid stream will not be a mechanism that, on its own or in its current form, will erase the low pay sector”. The Committee asks the Government, in cooperation with the social partners, to continue providing information concerning the implementation of the low-paid bargaining provisions and its impact on pay equity as well as on any other developments in relation to these provisions of the Fair Work Act of 2009.

The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that the Fair Work Commission is responsible for setting and reviewing modern awards and minimum wages for Australian workers and must, in this regard, take into account the principle of equal remuneration. In the Annual Wage Review decision of the Fair Work Commission of 2 June 2015, the principle of equal remuneration was found to be a factor supporting an increase in the national minimum wage and award classification wages. The Fair Work Commission stated that “Women are disproportionately represented among both the low paid and the award-reliant and hence an increase in minimum wages is likely to promote pay equity”. In regard to minimum wages, the Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on how the principle of equal remuneration is taken into account in the determination of minimum wage and the impact of minimum-wage decisions on the gender pay gap.

Enforcement. Pay equity cases. The Committee recalls that, the Full Bench of Fair Work Australia’s Equal Remuneration Order of February 2012, which awarded pay increases to the social and community services sector (SACS), is to be phased in over eight years and to be realised by 2020. In order to facilitate the implementation of the Order, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Fair Work Ombudsman continues to promote the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value through the resources provided on its website, including delivering tailored advice and information regarding the Equal Remuneration Order. In particular, the Committee notes the Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT) which deals with the rates of pay both under the Equal Remuneration Order and relevant Queensland pay equity regulations. The tool allows employers and employees who are covered by these Orders to undertake the calculation of wages and other entitlements in one place. The Committee further notes from the Government’s report that, following the Equal Remuneration Order of February 2012, the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission (WAIRC) granted an application to increase wage rates in the social and community services sector in the Western Australian State jurisdiction on a level equivalent to those granted by Fair Work Australia’s Equal Remuneration Order of 2012. Furthermore the Commonwealth Government announced in 2014 that it will provide over $97 million in supplement to eligible service providers as a result of the WAIRC’s decision. The Committee also notes that a further two applications have been lodged with the Fair Work Commission for an equal remuneration order in 2013, firstly, by United Voice and the Australian Education Union (Victorian Branch) and secondly, by the Independent Education Union of Australia. The unions of concern are seeking an equal remuneration order for approximately 103,000 child care workers and teachers, working in long day care centres and preschools. Throughout 2013–14, the Fair Work Commission received written and oral submissions from parties on legislative and conceptual issues relevant to the equal remuneration provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the decision and outcome of the two applications made to the Fair Work Commission and any implications thereof on addressing equal remuneration in the sectors of concern in practice. The Committee also asks the Government to continue providing information on the awards and decisions of Fair Work Commission and of the courts and state commissions. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the activities conducted by the Fair Work Commission concerning the promotion and enforcement of equal remuneration for work of equal value, and the results achieved.