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Landmark Equal Pay Decision
Last week a landmark decision was made by Fair Work Australia awarding a major pay rise to almost 150,000 workers in the community sector.
Several unions, including the Australian Services Union applied, with the support of the Federal Government, for the wage increase on the basis that the industry was underpaid primarily as a result of the majority of workers being women (approx. 120,000 out of 150,000 workers).
Most of the workers are in social services, welfare and the caring professions, and are covered by the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010. Some of the larger employers are Mission Australia, Amnesty International, Oxfam, the Catholic Church and Greenpeace, with many smaller organisations also affected.
The pay increases are to be phased in over 8 years and will boost wages between 19 and 41 percent for the industry. The increases will be introduced in nine annual instalments commencing on 1 December 2012 and ending on 1 December 2020.
The increases are to be backed by a $2 billion funding commitment by the Federal Government, and the states have been asked to provide additional support to reduce the impact on affected organisations.
Employer groups are concerned that this decision may now pave the way for other ‘equal pay for equal work’ claims in other industries.
