Pay Equity Regulation Support Project
On 4 August 2011, the Governor-General signed a Regulation which requires a number of employers in the Queensland SACS sector to pay staff in accordance with the Queensland Pay Equity Decision (now a Transitional Pay Equity Order, or TPEO).
The Regulation lists 316 “prescribed employers” and is a result of a key commitment of the Heads of Agreement between the Australian Services Union and the Federal Government: protecting the Queensland rates of Pay in the Federal Industrial Relations system at organisations that were respondent to the SACS/CASH Awards and received supplementary funding from the Queensland government. Prescribed organisations will be required to pay TPEO rates from 1 October 2011 and backpay current and past employees to 1 January 2010.
QCOSS, NDS and Jobs Australia have commenced a joint project, funded by the Queensland Government, to assist employers affected by the Regulation.
This support will consist of: Industrial Relations expertise provided by Jobs Australia, workshops across the state, a free information line, a backpay calculation tool; and ongoing HR and IR support. Organisations who are listed in the regulation will be contacted by QCOSS or NDS and will be provided with these support mechanisms as they become available.
QCOSS acknowledges that the supplementary funding provided by the Queensland Government will go some way to assist organisations who receive it, however, we know that for many organisations this supplementary funding will not be enough or not be available to their organisation. QCOSS will continue to advocate for full funding of community sector wages and we encourage you to continue lobbying too.
As part of the project we will be collecting data and stories on the implications of the Regulation on the prescribed employers and their service users.
A copy of the Regulation along with up to date news, information, support tools and campaigning resources is housed on the Community Door website at www.communitydoor.org.au/pay-equity-regulation.
