It truly is a historic ruling.
As Sally McManus, writing on The Punch, said:
“This decision will address this gender-based undervaluation of the sector and deliver long overdue pay increases to over 150 000 workers around Australia.”
“Poor wages mean that many workers can’t afford to stay in the sector. Retention rates are terrible and our most vulnerable people suffer as a result.”
And unions worked hard to fight this case on behalf of 150,000 Australian workers who do very important, yet clearly undervalued work. But why were so many workers so disadvantaged, valued so differently?
This difference in “value” is partly historical, emanating from a time when women were not regarded as “breadwinners” or welcome in most parts of the workforce. “Women’s work” was, and still is, a term used to downplay the value of women’s skills.
Male-dominated industries have also traditionally been more industrially organized, with better pay and conditions hard won through decades of negotiation, disputes and legal rulings.
These historic differences and attitudes are still reflected in the pay packets of women and practices of many workplaces today, resulting in a persistent wage gap that remains stuck at 18% in 2010.
However, the ruling by Fair Work Australia changes that.
The decision to properly value the work of the majority female workforce who looks after the homeless, the disabled, refugees, domestic violence victims, children at risk and other vulnerable people in our society is a credit to workplace reforms introduced by the Labor Government.
The ruling is a clear indication of why we need good, fair laws in place so that all Australian workers can receive fair pay and conditions.
The equal remuneration provisions in the Act are delivering on the promise of equal pay, which are a workplace right and a human right. But the ruling would not have been possible without the dedication of community sector workers and their unions in the face of staunch opposition from employers.
Fair Work Australia’s ruling means social and community sector workers will receive pay increases of between 23% and 45% over the next eight years, beginning on 1 December; and more importantly begin to receive the recognition they deserve for the difficult and often stressful work they do.
Alex Schlotzer is ACTU web campaigns officer
R@W News is a forum for news, analysis and commentary about rights at work and related issues. The opinions presented in R@W News are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent policies or views of the ACTU.