{"id":1277,"date":"2019-01-21T17:28:47","date_gmt":"2019-01-21T17:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=1277"},"modified":"2019-01-21T17:28:47","modified_gmt":"2019-01-21T17:28:47","slug":"labors-fair-go-plan-to-help-close-the-gender-pay-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2019\/01\/21\/labors-fair-go-plan-to-help-close-the-gender-pay-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"LABOR\u2019S FAIR GO PLAN TO HELP CLOSE THE GENDER PAY GAP"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nLabor will deliver a fair go for Australian women by strengthening the ability of the Fair Work Commission to order pay increases for workers in female dominated industries such as early childhood, aged care, and disability services.
\nLabor will change the Fair Work Act to make it clear that the Commission must consider pay equity a central objective of the workplace relations system.
\nLabor will give the Commission greater capacity and funding to conduct Pay Equity Reviews and order pay increases in undervalued feminised industries.\u00a0Low paid workers should not have to rely on fighting complex, expensive legal cases to secure a decent wage rise.
\nPay Equity Reviews will be conducted by a new Presidential member of the Commission, supported by an expert Pay Equity Panel.
\nWe don\u2019t need to compare female dominated jobs with male dominated jobs to know that female dominated industries are often poorly paid \u2013 that\u2019s just a fact.\u00a0 So we will change the Fair Work Act to make it clear that establishing undervaluation of female dominated industries does not require a male comparator.
\nThese reforms are an important part of Labor\u2019s plan to close the gender pay gap.
\nA fair go for all Australians means fair pay and conditions for Australian women.
\nThe gender pay gap is one of the most persistent forms of inequality in the Australian economy.\u00a0 When you consider total remuneration, women still get paid about 23 per cent less than men.
\nOne of the key drivers of the gap is the fact work in traditionally female dominated industries is undervalued.
\nThe average woman working in the most feminised industries such as health care, social assistance and education is paid around $30,000 less than the average man working in the most male dominated industries such as mining and construction.
\nAustralia\u2019s equal pay laws are not working well enough to tackle this problem. Of the 21 applications made since 1994, only one equal remuneration order has been made by the Fair Work Commission.
\nThe Commission\u2019s President, Iain Ross, recently said \u201cit is likely [the gender pay gap] will widen again absent any measures to stop it.\u201d
\nThat\u2019s why Labor will:<\/p>\n