
Issue No 19		25 June 1999

News

Pay Anniversary Marks New Challenges

By Brenda Finlayson

The ACTU President, Jennie George, has called on women around Australia to speak up in the debate over the nation's industrial relations laws.


	Jennie George & Joan Kirner

Ms George was addressing 80 people who met in Melbourne last week to mark the 30th anniversary of the historic equal pay for equal work decision in the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission on June 19, 1969.

Jennie George told the EMILY's List and Union Women gathering that the award system had been a major protector of women, but was under challenge by the regime of Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith.

"We will be calling on women and women's organisations in the next few months to get your views through to the Senate inquiry, to protest to the Democrats who will have the balance of power on this issue, to say no to further deregulation of the labour market," she said.

Ms George also warned young women not to take for granted the achievements on pay and conditions that had been won by hard struggle.

The former Premier of Victoria and co-convenor of EMILY's List, Joan Kirner, said the Labor Party in 1998 won back and gained on the women's vote it had lost at the previous federal election, turning the gender gap around by 4%.

"That was because we pre-selected women the voters wanted to elect," she said. "We had policies that working-class women wanted. If anybody thinks we are going back to a position where women are secondary to men's view in the party, they've got another thing coming."

EMILY's List Australia is a political network aimed at increasing the number of women Labor MPs in Federal, State and Territory parliaments. In just over two years, EMILY's List has helped 23 new Labor women candidates into parliament, attracted more than 1600 members and contributed over $240,000 to election campaigns.

EMILY's List supports equity, diversity, choice, and childcare. EMILY is an acronym and stands for Early Money Is Like Yeast - it makes the dough rise. Early money is often the most important initial support a candidate can have when heading into an election.

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Issue 19 contents

Interview: Moore for the Battlers
NCOSS director Garry Moore gives the community sector's response to this week's State Budget

Unions: AWU's Bush Blitz
"This is AWU Country". That's the slogan for the Australian Workers Union as it launches its campaign to address the specific needs of workers throughout regional and rural Australia.

Indigenous: Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide
A United Nations committee slams Australia on indigenous native title rights.

International: Unions Post-War Stand
The world labour group demands KFOR track war-crimes authors and says social dimension central to Balkan reconstruction.

History: How Swede It Was
Swedish seafarers play an important role in South Australia's maritime history.

Review: If He Had Only Listened To Me ...
If Michael Thompson had listened to me the current debate raging in the nation嚙編 opinion pages about his book may not have been as hysterical.

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» For Olympic嚙編 Sake Let嚙編 Become Weekend Warriors

» Brassed Off: Birch Not Out of the Woods

» No Ship is an Island

» Firey Country Conference to Fuel Bush Resurgence

» Pay Anniversary Marks New Challenges

» Join the Labor Council Team!