Pay equity in the aged care industry
The joint submission to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission on the Award Modernisation Process for the Aged Care Industry Award (prepared by Suzanne Hammond) from the National Pay Equity Coalition (NPEC), the Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL) and the National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW) emphasises the importance of the Award system to women, and states that Awards have been an effective means of advancing pay equity in Australia.
The submission argues that many women workers in the Aged Care Industry are low paid and that this is a result of gender-related under-valuation of their work. The submission identifies factors that contribute to this under-valuation, and suggests that a contemporary re-assessment of work skills and value would assist in correcting for equal remuneration for work performed.