The Australian Services Union, on behalf of 200,000 workers in the Social and Community sector, has lodged an Equal Remuneration Order (ERO) with Fair Work Australia. The ERO seeks to address the wage inequality between workers in the community sector as compared to those in similar roles within Government and For-Profit sectors. The Union is asking for pay rises of between 14-50%, bringing the predominantly female industry to parity with the Government and the for-profit sector.
Workers driving the Campaign for Equal Pay are those in the Social and Community Sector – careers, disability support workers, youth workers, counsellors and domestic violence support workers. 87% of workers in this sector are women, most in low-paid jobs, providing invaluable support to some of the most vulnerable people in our community in what are intellectually and emotionally strenuous roles. These workers fall under the Social and Community Sector (SACS) award classification.
To the Honourable Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives, and the Honourable President and Members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The Petition of the undersigned draws to the attention of the Parliament the overwhelming public support for the Equal Pay Campaign for Social and Community Services (SACS) Workers.
We call upon Julia Gillard and the Federal Government to:
We recognise:
- Support equal pay for community workers, and;
- To ensure that services have the funds they need to meet the costs of equal pay without the need to cut servies.
- that workers in this sector provide invaluable support to some of the most vulnerable people in our community.
- that these workers are currently low paid
- that 87% of workers in this industry are female, and that the gender pay gap in Australia is currently 18%, up from 17.2% in 2009.
- that currently in Australia, the weekly gender pay gap stands with women earling $239.30 less than men. We recognise this is the biggest gap in pay between men and women since 1994.
- that the gender pay gap has a disproportionate effect on workers in the Social and Community Services Sector and call on the Federal Government to fix these inequalities.
