Mixed reaction to National Fair Pay Case

Last week Fair Work Australia upheld a pay equity claim for 200,000 community services workers in the National Community Services pay claim case but has fallen short of ordering an equal pay order, instead calling on the unions to show how much of the pay gap is caused by gender discrepancies.

Not surprisingly the decision by Fair Work Australia in the  has generated mixed responses, as outlined in this extract from an article that first appeared in Pro Bono News.

The Australian Not for Profit sector has reacted to the long-awaited ruling by Fair Work Australia in the equal remuneration case with a mixture of optimism and caution, saying it is now up to the government to commit to funding a pay rise for community sector workers.

With many in the sector hoping Fair Work Australia would finally award an equal remuneration order for 200,000 social and community sector workers, the decision by FWA to delay ordering a wage rise for workers was seen by some as an anticlimax.

Fair Work Australia upheld the pay equity claim for community services workers, saying it does recognise that there is not equal remuneration for SACS workers when compared with state and local government employment.

However FWA fell short of issuing an equal remuneration order, saying the extent to which this is based upon gender is not yet clear. FWA has instead calling on the unions to show how much of the pay gap is caused by gender discrepancies.

UnitingCare Australia says Fair Work Australia’s decision today to extend its inquiry into community sector wages is a bit of an anticlimax.

National Director, Lin Hatfield Dodds says with additional submissions due by August this year, the sector expects an outcome by Christmas.

Community services peak body the Australian Council of Social Service says that the tribunal’s finding validates the claims of those working in the sector that they do not receive equal remuneration for the work that they do, and that gender has been an important factor in creating these conditions.

ACOSS CEO Cassandra Goldie says she congratulates Fair Work Australia for getting it right.

With FWA calling for further evidence on the extent to which lower wages are due to gender considerations, Dr Goldie says ACOSS would like to see a final ruling in line with the 2009 Queensland decision that awarded pay rises to community workers of 18-42% per cent.

She says this is the bar if wage equality is to be achieved in the community sector

Community sector employer group Community Employers WA received the FWA decision with a mixture of optimism and caution.

Community Employers WA’s Executive Director, James Lawton says they still strongly caution that any increases that may be awarded by Fair Work Australia, following the next series of submissions and hearings, must be accompanied by a guarantee by the Federal and State Governments to fund these increases.

Lawton says while they are pleased that the process is continuing and the issue of fair and just pay is still on the agenda, they cannot underestimate the disastrous effect of increased pay, without a corresponding increase in funding, on the sector.

He says if this funding is not provided, there will be a reduction in community services and staff who provide those services, resulting in the most vulnerable members of the community being the real losers.

Federal Member for Melbourne Adam Bandt has backed calls for the Government to commit to funding any pay rise awarded by FWA, saying the tribunal had made a clear statement that government funding was the problem.

Victorian Government backdown on Fair pay for communty sector workers: Will the Barnett Government be next?

Once again the not-for-profit sector has been betrayed by a government that made all sorts of promises about the importance of the sector and the need to address the problems of funding shortfalls and low wage.

The newly elected Baillieu Government in Victoria has backed away from a promise made before the election to fund a pay rise for the community sector workforce should it be ordered by Fair Work Australia.

In its submission to Fair Work Australia in relation to the Equal Remuneration Case for Community and Social Sector Workers, the Victorian Baillieu Government warned of possible cuts to jobs and services if it has to fund a large pay rise for the female-dominated workforce.  The Australian Services Union brought the case before Fair Work Australia (FWA), and is seeking a pay rise for community and social sector workers – a workforce which is predominantly female. The case is based on a 2009 Queensland decision to award pay rises to such workers of up to 37 per cent over three years.

The online publication Pro Bono News reports that

....Victoria’s Not for Profit sector has reacted angrily, pointing to the election promise made by the Minister for Women’s Affairs and Community Services Mary Wooldridge to fund the pay rise even it went over the budgeted $200 million over four years.

In its submission to FWA, the Victorian Government says that that contrary to the unions’ submission, it ought not be assumed that all governments have undertaken to fully fund the unions’ claim in the event that it is granted by FWA.

It says the Victorian Government estimates that this year it will provide $1,568 million funding for SACS workers wages.

It says the pay rise sought by the union means the cost to the Victorian government of funding SACS workers will be in the range of between $700 million over 4 years (if an 18% rise is ordered) and $1,700 million over 4 years (if a 37% rise is ordered).

The submission says the Victorian Government’s public commitment of $200 million over 4 years to support the decision by FWA is consistent with their election commitment of responsible management of the State's finances, which includes maintaining an operating surplus of at least $100 million each year without pushing up debt.

The submission says depending upon the extent of any wage increase granted and the prospect that any increase in wages may not be fully funded by the Commonwealth Government, this may mean that there will be a “gap” between the rates of pay prescribed by FWA and the funding of the sector.

It says this gap may result in a reduction in services which in turn may have an impact on the numbers of positions in the sector, and / or on the hours of work available to workers employed in the sector.

The Government submission says evidence provided by Lincoln Hopper from Mission Australia demonstrates that there is a possibility that the claim, if granted in full or in part, will have adverse effects on employment, hours of work and service provision in the SACS sector.

It says Mission Australia employs 1,052 people who would be affected by an equal remuneration order, which would see the organisations salary costs rise by a total of $3.735 million per year, affecting the organisations ability to employ people and resource projects.

In a pre-election interview with VCOSS, CEO Cath Smith just a couple of days out from the 2010 Victorian State Election, Liberal member for Doncaster, Mary Wooldridge said the Liberal Government would fund the pay-rise even if it cost more than the estimated $50 million per year.

In the interview, Wooldridge said the Victorian Coalition fully supported the pay equity case, and would support the decisions of Fair Work Australia and would be passing them through in their funding arrangement.

She said the Victorian Coalition was very clear that they believed this needs to happen and that they would be funding the outcome.

The Australian Services Union says the Baillieu Government backflipped on the election promise in their submission to Fair Work Australia, stating that any unfunded increases would have to be paid for by reducing services and jobs.

ASU Assistant Branch Secretary Lisa Darmanin slammed the recent announcement, saying it is an insult to hard-working, mostly women community workers who the Minister for Community Services Mary Wooldridge promised - on the eve of the state election - that a Coalition government would value their work by funding and supporting the equal pay claim at Fair Work Australia.

Darmanin says the Baillieu Government’s submission is effectively saying that equal pay for these workers needs to be paid for by cutting services to the most disadvantaged in our community, or make those working in it work harder by reducing staff.

VCOSS CEO Cath Smith says she expects the government to honour its pre-election commitments to community sector workers.

With the Victorian State Budget to see an estimated $46 billion in transaction revenue over the next 12 months, Smith says there must be room in the budget to fund this key election promise.