Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Australia (Ratification: 1974)

The Committee notes the observations of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) of 22 September 2015.

Article 2 of the Convention. Legislative developments. In its previous comments, the Committee welcomed the adoption of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, under which all non-public sector employers with more than 100 employees must report annually to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) against a set of gender equality indicators, including equal remuneration between women and men. The Government reports that the WGEA received 4,352 reports from more than 11,000 employers in 2014. With the reporting data, the WGEA develops and produces confidential customized benchmark reports to help employers understand their relative performance against different comparison groups and the WGEA provides advice and assistance to employers in relation to promoting and improving gender equality in the workplace. In this regard, the Committee notes the WGEA’s Gender Strategy Toolkit which has been developed to help organizations leverage the value of the benchmark data in a strategic, structured and sustainable way. The Committee also notes that the employer is under an obligation to inform its employees and relevant employee organizations that the report has been sent to the WGEA and they have the opportunity to comment on the report to the employer or WGEA. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that amendments have been made to the Workplace Gender Equality (Matters in relation to Gender Equality Indicators) Instrument 2013 (No. 1) with the aim of streamlining workplace gender equality reporting requirements from the 2015–16 reporting period onwards while still meeting the gender policy objectives of the legislation. The Committee notes the observations made by the ACTU that the amendments water down the reporting requirements under the legislation. According to the ACTU, employers are no longer required to report on: the remuneration of, among others, chief executive officers (CEOs) or equivalent, key management personnel above the CEO and managers employed on a casual basis, the remuneration of workers engaged on the basis of a contract for services (including independent contractors and agency (labour hire) employed staff), or the annualized average full-time components of total remuneration. Furthermore, information relating to the number of applications and interviews conducted, and to the number of requests made and approvals granted for extensions of paid leave, is no longer collected. The Committee notes that the Government and the ACTU indicate that these changes were made in response to difficulties encountered by businesses in complying with the former requirements, and that a working group of stakeholders has been established to identify ways of improving data collection. The Committee emphasizes that the principle of the Convention applies to “all workers”. The Committee requests the Government to provide information regarding the composition of the working group, the outcome of its discussions and any follow-up action taken. The Committee also requests the Government, in cooperation with the social partners, to evaluate the amendments made to the Workplace Gender Equality (Matters in relation to Gender Equality Indicators) Instrument 2013 (No. 1) in light of the Act’s objectives and the principle of the Convention.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.