Average female workers are paid $30,000 less than average male workers
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Labor is pushing to restructure the Fair Work Commission (FWC) through a series of changes that aim to make equal pay a priority of government.
The party said it is advocating for gender pay equity by increasing pay orders in industries that have historically been dominated by women. The changes are designed to guide the commission on pay decisions, such as minimum wage and penalty rates.
In support of the restructure, Labor also plans to appoint a second FWC president who will oversee a pay equity panel that will rule on matters following a new equal pay principle, The Guardian reported.
“We don’t need to compare female-dominated jobs with male-dominated jobs to know that female-dominated industries are often poorly paid – that’s just a fact,” Tanya Plibersek, shadow minister for women, and Brendan O’Connor, workplace relations spokesman, said in a statement.
In industries such as health care, education, and social services, which are considered to be dominated by women, average female workers are paid $30,000 less than average male workers in sectors dominated by men, they said.
“Low-paid workers should not have to rely on fighting complex, expensive legal cases to secure a decent wage rise,” Plibersek and O’Connor said. They believe the gender pay gap has widened in part because the work of women in female-dominated industries continues to be undervalued.
“We will change the Fair Work Act to make it clear that establishing undervaluation of female-dominated industries does not require a male comparator.”
