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Pay Equity Case - NSW Government dogs it

The new NSW state government has changed their position on supporting our historic Pay Equity Case to get wage justice for disability and community services workers. The former Labor Government supported the application and lastnight the new Liberal Government has dogged it and withdrawn their support.

Under the heading "NSW squibs on promise to close pay gap for community workers", Sean Nichols wrote the following article in the Sydney Morning Herald (29 April 2011):

NSW has dramatically reversed its position on a landmark national pay case for tens of thousands of low-paid social and community services workers, mostly women. The O'Farrell government argues it could cost $1 billion and lead to service cuts and higher taxes.

The former Labor government broadly supported the equal pay case, brought before Fair Work Australia by unions on behalf of 200,000 workers in the community and disability sectors.

In NSW they include more than 30,000 employees of charities, such as child protection and disability support workers, and other not-for-profit organisations which are funded by the state.

Unions are seeking a national pay rise of up to 30 per cent to bring the workers into line with the pay rates of their counterparts in the government sector. The case is viewed as an equal-pay case for women as they represent 87 per cent of community and disability sector workers.

While the former government had not committed to funding the pay claim, its submission supported the comparison between government and community sector workers and "an approach that advances equal remuneration for men and women performing work of equal or comparable value". But on April 12, the final day of hearings, lawyers for the new Minister for Finance and Services, Greg Pearce, sought an extension so the government could consider updating the NSW submission.

The revised submission argues the union's case comparing community and government workers is flawed and "must fail".

Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-squibs-on-promise-to-close-pay-gap-for-community-workers-20110428-1dyx7.html

Read the full NSW Government submission:
http://www.fwa.gov.au/sites/remuneration/submissions/Final_Sub_NSW_Gov_FinanceAndServices.pdf

Don't forget, Pay Equity support rallies are being organised around the country on Wednesday 8 June 2011. More details will follow shortly.

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