Equal Pay for Women

Excerpt of The ACTU: A short history on the occasion of the 50th anniversary (Hagan, 1977), from the Bob Hawke Collection, RH37

In the 1969 Equal Pay Case the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission considered the concept of equal pay for female Commonwealth public servants and meat industry employees, with Hawke advocating on behalf of the Meat Industry Employees Union.

Hawke's (1969) handwritten case notes on the equal pay case, from the Bob Hawke Collection, RH56/4/Equal Pay

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Proposed equal pay principles (ACTU, 1972), from the Bob Hawke Collection, RH56/4/Equal Pay

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Unions sought to eliminate the differences in pay rates that result from the concept that male wages should incorporate provision for the obligation to provide for a family, whereas female wages were only required to support a single female. The Commission accepted the principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’ in instances where women were doing the exact same work as men in traditionally male roles.

Australian Commonwealth (1969) Equal Pay report, from the Bob Hawke Collection, RH10/13/158

In the 1972 National Wage and Equal Pay Case, the Commission reviewed the 1969 decision and expanded it to ‘equal pay for work of equal value’ with a single rate for a job regardless of gender. Because women and men often find themselves in work of a different nature, the dilemma of figuring out how to measure ‘work of equal value’ remained.

This issue persists to this day and is a significant contributor to today’s gender pay gap.

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Working women's charter, developed by the ACTU (1977), from the Bob Hawke Collection, RH13/31/339

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At the 1977 ACTU Congress, a Working Women’s Charter was adopted to address issues faced by women, including maternity/paternity leave, childcare centres, and discrimination against women in the workforce. A Working Women’s Charter Committee was created to report and make recommendations to the ACTU Executive about the coordination and publicity for the implementation of the Working Women’s Charter. A Special Unions Conference on the Working Women’s Charter was held in 1978.

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Special Union Conference agenda (ACTU, 1978), from the Bob Hawke Collection, RH13/31/339

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Working Women's Charter Committee recommendations (ACTU, 1978), from the Bob Hawke Collection, RH13/31/339

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Working Women's Charter press statement (ACTU, 1978), from the Bob Hawke Collection, RH13/31/339

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Hawke's address at the Special Union Conference (ACTU, 1978), from the Bob Hawke Collection, RH13/31/339

Sources

Commonwealth of Australia. (2017). Equal Pay Case 1969. https://www.fwc.gov.au/waltzing-matilda-and-the-sunshine-harvester-factory/historical-material/equal-pay-case-1969
Commonwealth of Australia. (2017). Equal Pay Case 1972. https://www.fwc.gov.au/waltzing-matilda-and-the-sunshine-harvester-factory/historical-material/equal-pay-case-1972

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