The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has called for a nine per cent pay rise for workers in feminised industries to close the gender pay gap in Australia.
The call is part of the ACTU’s submission to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) in the watchdog’s Annual Wage Review.
On top of the trade union peak body’s proposal for a five per cent increase across all award wages in Australia, ACTU’s Secretary Sally McManus said an additional four per cent increase in feminised industries could bring the nation one step closer to equal pay.
“Achieving equal pay for women requires systemic change and targeted pay rises in industries traditionally dominated by women and historically very low-paid,” McManus said.
“A 9 per cent pay increase will not only support families with cost-of-living pressures, it will also be a vital first step to properly valuing the work of working women doing critical work for our community, such as educating the next generation and caring for our loved ones.”
Industries such as early childhood education, health support services, veterinary care and disability home care – among many others – have historically been undervalued on the basis of gender, the ACTU says in its submission.
This has resulted in a significant and gendered gap in Australia for total remuneration, which currently sits at 21.7 per cent, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).
The ACTU’s proposal for a nine per cent pay rise for wages in feminised industries would mean workers in these industries, on average, could receive an extra $90 every week.
McManus said employers must do better in addressing the pay gap to not only support their employees, but to ultimately serve the Australian economy, as it rebuilds in a cost of living crisis.
“When employers push for real pay cuts while enjoying record corporate profits, they are disregarding the struggles of working women in Australia,” McManus said.
“Equal pay and cost of living increases are good for workers and good for the economy.”
The ACTU is also calling for a five per cent increase for wages in Australia across all awards in order to address the devastating cost of living crisis in Australia.
Wages have not kept up with inflation off the back of the COVID-19 pandemic: according to the ACTU, a worker on the average award wage from three years ago would be $5,200 better off today if wages increased in line with inflation.
In February this year, WGEA released the gender pay gaps of more than 5000 Australian companies. It is the first time gender pay gaps within organisations have ever been made public.
The findings of WGEA’s data show there is a median gender pay gap in every single industry in Australia.
Last month, in an address to the National Press Club, CEO of WGEA Mary Wooldridge noted the “structural and cultural inequalities” that stop any progress toward equal pay.
Wooldridge said it is critical for organisations to realise that their gender pay gap is “driven by the composition of the workforce in higher and lower paid roles”.