
Issue No 4		12 March 1999

News

NSW Holds Line as Gender Pay Gap Widens

The gap between male and female pay levels is widening in key industries, with women in states with deregulated labour market faring the worst.

An analysis of wage figures by the ACTU has concluded that the gender pay gap is increasing for the first time in 30 years and that a strong award safety net is a vital part of the equation.

This was backed by the fact that Western Australia, which has the least regulated wages system in the country, has the lowest wages for women anywhere in Australia and they earn just 56 per cent of men's' wages

In contrast, in NSW where a Labor Government has re-regulated industrial relations, they have the highest pay rate of all the states and earn 66 per cent of men's' wages.

Significantly, it is NSW where the state government has taken positive steps to address the issue, with its Inquiry into Pay Equity.

The figures, based on Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, were released by ACTU President Jennie George to coincide with International Women's Day this week.

"Although it is early days in terms of these statistics, these are amazing figures and are of great concern," she said.

Ms George blamed the Howard-Reith industrial agenda for the widening gap, with the erosion of award rates and conditions placing downwards pressure on women's' wages.

They also showed female workers in hospitality, education, manufacturing and property and business services have fallen further behind their male colleagues.

According to the analysis, the wage differential between male and female workers in the hospitality sector had increased an alarming 11.8 per cent of average weekly earnings. In the other industries the shift was incremental, but still concerning.

The ACTU will now embark on a four-pronged strategy to address the widening pay gap.

* Support for the Living Wage claim strategy

* Investigating more equal remuneration test cases; like the ones at HPM and The Age.

* Applying the findings of the NSW Pay Equity Inquiry to the federal jurisdiction

* Continuing to oppose Australian Workplace Agreements and further deregulation of the wages system.

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Issue 4 contents

Interview: Jennie George - Eyeing 2000
The ACTU President looks to the future and erects a few new signposts for her last 12 months in office and beyond.

Unions: Trade Unions Thinking Globally
How do you put people first in a global economy? That's the question for an international trade union conference in Sydney this week.

History: The Pioneers: Trade Unions Before 1850
Labour historian Greg Patmore looks at the early days of unions in Australia

Review: Opening Spaces For a New Labor
A new book by Sydney academic McKenzie Wark looks at how Labor must adapt to the popular culture.

Campaign Diary: On The Bus - A Tale Of Two Campaigns
As the State election campaign moves into full swing, Workers Online looks at how the management of the media by the two main parties is reflecting their strategies.

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