Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

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

1. Wage fixing. Australian Fair Pay Commission. The Committee notes that in the context of the workplace reforms through the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005, which came into force in March 2006, most wage-fixing responsibility was transferred from the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) to the Australian Fair Pay Commission (AFPC). In its previous comment, the Committee noted concerns raised by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) regarding the removal of state industrial relations jurisdiction, and thereby removing an important avenue of redress for workers with respect to pay equity matters. In its submission to the AFPC, the HREOC noted that state industrial tribunals have had the most success in assessing historical undervaluation of women’s skills and determining the work value of occupations traditionally carried out by women, but that now the AFPC is the only body with direct responsibility for pay. The Committee also notes that the AFPC has announced two increases in federal minimum wages. Given the central role of the Australian Fair Pay Commission in determining wages, the Committee asks the Government to provide specific information on measures taken or envisaged by the AFPC to narrow the gender pay gap and to promote the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value, including information as to how progress in this regard is monitored.

2. Australian Workplace Agreements. In its previous observation, the Committee raised concerns regarding the impact, on equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, of the move away from award regulation to workplace-based regulation in the setting of wages, in particular through the Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs). In this context, the Committee asked the Government to provide detailed information on the wages and benefits negotiated under these agreements, and for information on the practical impact of AWAs on the remuneration gap between men and women workers. The Government states in response that no studies have been undertaken assessing the practical impact of the AWAs on the gender pay gap. However, the Government indicates that a report provided to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, pursuant to section 844 of the Workplace Relations Act, 1996, includes information on the developments in bargaining for the making of workplace agreements but has not yet been released publicly. The Committee notes that the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) is undertaking an inquiry into the impact of the Work Choices reforms on pay equity in Queensland. The Committee also notes that a workplace industrial relations survey was undertaken in 2006 in the State of Victoria, with the intention of providing a benchmark for Victorian workplaces following the introduction of the Work Choices reforms, and that two reports were published subsequently, including Women in the Victorian Workplace, which found that workplaces operating under collective agreements provided better pay and conditions than those dependent on individualized bargaining. The Committee once again asks the Government to provide detailed information on the wages and benefits negotiated under AWAs, including with regard to family-friendly provisions, disaggregated by sex and sector, and to forward a copy of the report prepared pursuant to section 844 of the Workplace Relations Act as soon as it is publicly available. The Committee also urges the Government to take steps to undertake a study, with the cooperation of the employers’ and workers’ organizations, on the practical impact of the AWAs on the gender pay gap. The Committee would also welcome information on any follow-up to the workplace industrial relations survey of Victoria in determining the impact of the Work Choices reforms, as well as details of the results of the inquiry undertaken by the QIRC.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.