Home > Industrial Relations > Submissions to Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) > Pay equity inquiry

Pay equity inquiry

Purpose

This submission requires the Commission to consider the extent of pay inequity in Queensland. In doing so the Commission is not required to examine all industries and occupations, but is to include an examination of the findings of the New South Wales inquiry into pay equity and their relevance to Queensland. The examination is to consider:

whether the relevant Queensland and New South Wales legislation differs and the extent to which any such difference may impact on pay inequity in Queensland; and
the relevance of the case studies into the undervaluation of women’s work examined as part of the New South Wales inquiry for Queensland.

Issues covered

This report examines relevant data on the earnings of female workers in various occupations and industries and through research into a number of occupations which were found to exhibit undervaluation.

The extent of pay inequity and the undervaluation of women’s work in Queensland and the factors that have contributed to it vary from case to case.

This submission outlines the provisions of the Act that relate to pay equity and to the commission’s powers in dealing with pay equity applications. It also examines the legislative changes proposed by the NSW Pay Equity Inquiry.

Outcomes

The government supports the conclusion:

pay inequity does exist in Queensland for female workers
Queensland’s industrial relations system which provides for a strong awards system, equal in importance to agreements, provides a better basis for pay equity than in some other jurisdictions
Industrial Relations Act 1999 also provides more opportunity to address pay inequity that legislation in other jurisdictions
a pay equity principle which would apply to equal remuneration orders, awards and industrial disputes

Date created

14/12/2000

View full submission on pay equity inquiry for Queensland (PDF, 445 KB)

View attachment 1 - history of pay equity in Queensland (PDF, 445 KB) as mentioned in submission

View attachment 2 – pay equity in Queensland (PDF, 434 KB) as mentioned in submission

Last updated July 26, 2005