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Pay gap to be addressed in Australia
The new Equal Pay Alliance of Australia is calling on all political parties and employers to value women's work properly and close the 17 per cent wage gap between the sexes once and for all, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has revealed.
It is launching a national equal pay campaign in Canberra, with the group including 150 organisations including businesses, unions and the community at large.
ACTU President Sharan Burrow said of the issue: "The pay gap is still so big that on average Australian women have to work 63 days more a year just to earn the same income.
"Over a lifetime, women end up earning on average about $1 million (£604,000) less than men."
The Alliance is supporting a national test case to attain better pay rates for social sector workers who are involved with helping the homeless, disabled, domestic violence victims and children at risk, among others.
ACTU was formed in the Victorian Trades Hall in 1927, aiming to improve the living standards and quality of working life of employees across the Antipodes.
Posted by David Farrior
