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Senate Employment, Workplace Relations, Small Business and Education Committee Inquiry

Sex Discrimination

Senate Employment, Workplace
Relations, Small Business and Education Committee Inquiry

HREOC Submission to the Inquiry
regarding the Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (More Jobs, Better
Pay) Bill 1999

The submission by
the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) to the Senate
Employment, Workplace Relations, Small Business and Education Committee
Inquiry regarding the Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (More
Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 1999 focuses on areas of specific concern to the
Sex Discrimination Commissioner. The submission does not comment on the
legislative scheme as a whole but rather on how the legislative framework
proposed by the Government might operate to minimise potentially discriminatory
impacts. The submission also focuses on the need to increase the provision
of information and the lack of relevant data evaluation.

Part A of
the submission reviews the operation of the workplace relations system
under the current Workplace Relations Act 1996. Part B discusses
the potential discriminatory impact of some of the legislative changes
proposed in the WR Bill.

Available evidence
indicates poor outcomes for some women under decentralised bargaining.
A trend depicting an enterprise bargaining gender pay gap has started
to emerge.

The number of casual
employees in the Australian workforce has increased substantially from
15.8 per cent in 1984 to approximately 25 per cent in 1997. In addition,
casual employment data indicates a decline in the proportion of casual
employees working less than 1 year with a single employer from 45.6 per
cent in 1996 to 41.5 per cent in 1998 and an increase in the proportion
working 5 years or more (19.5 per cent in 1996 to 20.8 per cent in 1998).
The average tenure of a casual is 3 1/2 years.

There remains a lack
of data on wage and employment outcomes based on the federal decentralised
bargaining system. Lack of data limits and impedes thorough analysis of
gender pay outcomes and consequently the ability to adequately assess
discriminatory pay outcomes.

HREOC considered
that the WR Bill presented an opportunity to deal with several of the
industrial relations concerns raised in the Report of the National Pregnancy
and Work Inquiry. However, HREOC noted with concern that most of the issues
raised did not appear to be addressed in the WR Bill when in fact the
Bill provided ample opportunity to attend to "gaps" that result in exploitation
and inappropriate treatment of women workers.

Proposed amendments
in the WR Bill may have resulted in discriminatory outcomes for women,
including:

  • further reductions
    in the allowable award matters;
  • constraining the
    AIRC's discretion to consider safety net increases for all award dependent
    employees;
  • further constraining
    transfers of employees from a State to the federal jurisdiction;
  • the certification
    of agreements without scrutiny by the AIRC to ensure that they meet
    the no-disadvantage test requirements;
  • no time periods
    for employees to be provided with AWAs prior to signing and immediate
    effect of AWAs; and
  • separation of
    conciliation into voluntary and compulsory streams.

HREOC proposed that
these issues be given in depth consideration with a view to appropriate
amendment.

Last
updated 1 December 2001