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Equal Pay Application Lodged

When we look back in years to come Thursday March 11, 2010 will be remembered as an historic day for Community Workers and all Australian Working Women. Thursday March 11 2010 will forever mark the day that Unions lodged the very first test case for Equal Pay under the Fair Work Laws. The Case sets out to prove that Community Workers wages have been set and kept so low because the work of the sector has been traditionally considered as Women’s Work. The case looks to rectify this injustice and will use the pay and conditions of comparable work to do so.

The ASU’s Equal Pay Case has been given the seal of approval by the federal government – with the DPM, Julia Gillard, signing a historic Heads of Agreement with the Union in 2009. The Heads of Agreement outlines the governments in principle support for the running of the case. It does not, however, make any reference to funding the outcome of the case. And so, the campaign for funding begins…

The Campaign for Full Funding Begins.

What are we campaigning for?

It’s hard to believe that is this day and age Australian women, on average, are paid 17 per cent less than men.

The pay gap is so big that on average Australian women have to work 63 days more a year just to earn the same income.

There are 200,000 Community Workers in Australia. All of them have been undervalued and all of them are underpaid. Most of them are women.

Our Equal Pay Case will be argue that low wages in a feminised industry like the community sector be brought into line with the pay rates in a similar male dominated industry. The fact is that Community Workers across Australia deserve pay rises in the realms of thirty-percent and this case will prove that fact.

But, facts and facts and without the government committing to funding the outcome of the case this case, their support, is simply lip service to equal pay.

We must campaign to make the government fund the outcome of our case. It’s time to Pay Up – No More Lip Service to Equal Pay.

How will we Campaign

This Campaign is a National Campaign. The key elements of the NSW and ACT campaign are;

1. Intensive Workplace visits in targeted areas across the states – click here for more information

2. Area by Area meetings to make local campaign plans – email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for details

3. A National Day of Action on June 10

4. An online campaign – building wide support.

Take ACTION NOW