Hundreds of thousands of Australians in industries with women-heavy workforces are in line for pay rises of up to 35 per cent following a landmark decision by the Fair Work Commission to address gendered pay imbalances.
The FWC handed down its ruling today, finding that certain childcare workers, pharmacists, dental assistants and therapists and other healthcare professionals, and social workers, which are all covered by five different awards, have “been the subject of gender-based undervaluation”.
It ruled that affected pharmacists will get a pay raise of 14.1 per cent, to come into effect in stages between June this year and June 2027.
While workers covered by the remaining four awards will have their exact pay rises determined at a later date, the FWC’s expert panel handed down provisional recommendations, which included a boost to minimum award rates of up to 35.23 per cent.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) said more than half a million workers would benefit from the decision: 175,000 who are paid directly under the five awards, and a further 335,000 whose wages are underpinned by those awards.
“Unions welcome today’s landmark ruling by the Fair Work Commission, which recognises that working Australians should not be undervalued and underpaid because of their gender,” ACTU president Michele O’Neil said.
“For too long, jobs where the majority of workers are women have been paid less.
“Discounting women’s work has contributed to the gender pay gap and worsened cost-of-living pressures for households.”
The decision comes on the back of amendments made to the Fair Work Act by the Albanese government in 2022, known as the “Secure Jobs, Better Pay” bill.
That legislation made gender equity an explicit object of the act, requiring the FWC to take gender into account in its pay decisions.
The five awards and workers covered by today’s ruling are:
- pharmacists covered by the Pharmacy Industry Award 2020;
- health professionals, pathology collectors and dental assistants covered by the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020;
- social and community services employees, crisis accommodation employees and home care employees in disability care covered by the Social, Community Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010;
- dental assistants and dental/oral therapists covered by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services Award 2020;
- children’s services employees covered by the Children’s Services Award 2010.
