Queensland public servant pay to be audited over gender inequality

Men in some State Government departments earn 13 per cent more than women, figures show, as an audit works to close the wage gap.

Gender pay audits of Queensland’s public servants will be done to close the wage gap between men and women employees following a review of industrial relations laws.

SEE THE EARNINGS DISCREPANCIES FOR QUEENSLAND PUBLIC SERVANTS BELOW

An audit of the Industrial Relations Act has recommended the public service’s new Special Commissioner for Equity and Diversity work with the Public Service Commission on priority audits to develop gender equality action plans.

A comprehensive database of employment statistics was needed to illustrate gender pay inequality across public sector agencies.

It should be published at least six months prior to the end of a wage agreement to help bargaining parties take the information into consideration when working out a new wage deal, the review found.

Former Labor attorney-general Linda Lavarch is a co-author of the review. Picture: Chris Higgins

“Gender pay equality audits, and associated gender pay equality action plans, have the potential to drive significant change,” the authors, former Labor attorney-general Linda Lavarch and retired Queensland Industrial Relations Commissioner John Thompson, wrote.

The data would provide for “deep analysis” of gender pay equality and better allow parties to meet their obligations to consider the issue when working on enterprise bargaining agreements, as they were meant to under the law but largely did not.

“Using gender pay equality audits as part of this process would thus be an efficient approach,” the report said.

The Government’s Gender Pay Equity dashboard already reveals that despite women accounting for two thirds of the public service, they are outnumbered in the most senior roles.

It shows the greatest gender pay gaps are in Queensland Health, the Department of Main Roads, Queensland Police Service and a host of other departments like Queensland Treasury and the Department of Justice and Attorney-General.

Meanwhile, other review recommendations accepted by the Palaszczuk Government would improve provisions for workers who experience sexual harassment or sex-based harassment.

They include clarifying in legislation that sexually harassing someone is misconduct and grounds for termination.

Submissions raised concerns around the use of nondisclosure clauses in cases of sexual harassment in contributing to a culture of silence and helping to protect the reputations of harassers and businesses.

Some argued they should only be allowed to protect the identify of a victim and help provide them closure, but others acknowledged publication could be an impediment to reaching settlement.

“On the one hand, transparency of outcomes can deter repeat behaviour by perpetrators and allow women to avoid predators, but conversely, confidentiality in settlements (to the satisfaction of employer and victim) can facilitate closure,” the report said.

The review did not make any recommendation on NDAs but noted there was work happening federally to consider the issue.

Meanwhile, parents would also have more rights to request part-time work beyond the point at which they return to work from parental leave.

And the law would be amended to match the federal Fair Work Act, ensuring 12-months’ unpaid parental leave was available to parents whose child is stillborn or dies in their first two years of life.