Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak briefly on the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 and the reforms introduced by the bill, particularly to address the gender pay gap. I'm pleased to see movement on making gender equality an objective of the Fair Work Act, introducing a statutory equal remuneration principle, strengthening rights to flexible working arrangements and banning pay gag clauses. These are all fixes that the Greens have called for over many years and which we welcome.

The overall gender pay gap in Australia remains at around 14 per cent. Women, on average, still have to work an extra 60 days to earn the same as men. Men are twice as likely to be higher paid than women across almost all industries, and 85 per cent of employers still have pay gaps in men's favour, even in female dominated workplaces. For First Nations women, women from culturally diverse backgrounds, women with disability and older women the gap can be even worse. The gender pay gap is a product of systemic and cultural factors, like workplace discrimination, lack of workplace flexibility, the cost and availability of child care and the impact of taking time out for caring work. Closing the gender pay gap will take a concerted effort by employers and governments at all levels. This bill makes a promising start, building on the work of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency in tracking gender inequality, and complementing the work to be done by the Women's Economic Equality Taskforce.

I would like to make comments about pay secrecy. Pay secrecy has been an ongoing contributor to the gender pay gap. In 2015 I introduced a private member's bill, the Fair Work Amendment (Gender Pay Gap ) Bill, to ban the use of pay secrecy clauses. So I am very pleased to see this concept being legislated today. For too long, employment contracts that insist on pay secrecy have been used to hid the gender pay gap. Britain and the US no longer allow such clauses. The European Union is set to make pay transparency a binding measure for member states. But pay gag clauses remain a normal practice in Australia. This bill is an overdue measure to end that practice and to create a more level playing field for women in the workplace. No-one should ever feel obligated to tell someone what they're earning, but no-one should be prevented from discussing it. Promoting healthy conversations about pay is the best way to bring inequality out into the open and then address it.

On gender equity and equal remuneration, the easiest way to close the gender pay gap is to pay women more. A key driver of the gender pay gap is the fact that jobs dominated by women, often as a result of entrenched gender stereotypes, remain undervalued. The teaching, child care, nursing, cleaning, retail and aged care sectors all have lower wages, poorer conditions, job insecurity and lower retention rates. Yet we saw through the pandemic how crucial and critical those roles are. The wages paid in those sectors need to better reflect their value. I'm very pleased that the aged care work value case recognised the gendered nature of evaluation of work and the under-valuation of work. There is no justification for pushing a wheelbarrow being valued more highly than pushing a wheelchair, yet average wages in care sectors remain lower than those in construction.

I was working at a community legal centre when the social services equal remuneration case, taken by my union, the Australian Services Union, was decided. I can tell you that the boost that was provided to female dominated sectors covered by that decision was invaluable. People were properly paid for the work they did. Organisations had some certainty that they could attract and retain staff. People felt valued, and their productivity and wellbeing improved as a result.

Women make up 61 per cent of workers being paid based on an award, so ensuring that the Fair Work Commission is tasked with considering gender equity and equal remuneration principles when making determinations will improve work conditions, productivity and wellbeing across all award sectors. I welcome these objectives and the establishment of expert panels on pay equity in the care and community sector to guide that work.

In relation to flexible working arrangements, whether they can access flexible working arrangements is a key factor for many parents in deciding whether to return to work and on what terms. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, most Australian women with as child under two who have returned to paid work use some kind of flexible working arrangement. Access to flexible working arrangements is also a key factor in how caring is shared between parents. For victims survivors of family, domestic or sexual violence flexible arrangements may be the only way to juggle work and dealing with trauma or the emotional and administrative fallout from escaping an abusive situation.

Normalising flexible working arrangements recognises the productivity benefits of ensuring that all workers can juggle family, personal and work responsibilities. Later start times, shared roles, days working from home or other arrangements can improve staff retention and staff wellbeing. Many employers recognise this and will grant requests for flexibility, but some bosses will just say no without considering whether and how they could actually make it work. We therefore welcome the requirement for employers to grant reasonable requests for family-friendly working arrangements, accommodating the need to care for elderly or disabled relatives, or recovery from family, domestic and sexual violence.

Lastly, on parental leave, the Greens have called for strong, equitable paid parental leave for many, many years. Whilst we are pleased that the government has committed to 26 weeks paid leave from 2026 and to the use-it-or-lose-it provisions, we still maintain that those improvements should be implemented much sooner, and we still want superannuation included on PPL and for leave to be remunerated at the parent's wage with a cap.

Relevantly to this bill, I congratulate my colleague Senator Barbara Pocock for her work in getting the government to agree that employers be required to consider all reasonable requests for extended unpaid parental leave. For many families, the 12 months that they're currently entitled to may not be enough—for example, if a child is unwell or requires special attention, if a parent is unwell or just needs some more time to transition back to work or if they live in a childcare desert, which is something that the government would also need to address, and they have no family support to help with child care.

Being able to request an extension of unpaid parental leave and know that employers will properly consider that request will be a significant comfort for many families. These provisions won't impact all families, but, for those who need a bit of extra time without risking their job, these provisions will be very welcome.

In conclusion, I commend the work of Greens leader Adam Bandt and our new and very capable Senator Barbara Pocock in negotiating improvements to this bill that will not only help women but will better protect workers, particularly lower paid workers. The Greens commend this bill to the chamber.