Gender pay gap: South Burnett council rejects claim of 13% gap

Data provided by a union representing council workers has revealed a significant gender pay gap at the South Burnett Council, though the council says it rejects the data and the notion it pays its men more.

Claims of a lingering gender wage gap at the South Burnett Regional Council are being rejected by the organisation.

Claims that jobs dominated by women at the South Burnett Regional Council were still paid up to 13 per cent less than jobs dominated by men were this week refuted by the council.

Figures provided by the Services Union show the current wage gap for graduate level positions at the council was 12-13 per cent.

This was despite women-dominated positions out-earning their counterparts at the entry level by about $111 a year.

The relative wage gap was calculated by measuring indoor workforce award stream where “most employees … are women” against outdoor jobs.

The union said the relativities of these wages were fixed “under the 1989 structural efficiency principles by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission” and “the wage relativities used in the Queensland Local Government Award 1992 remain intact in our current award today”.

The relativities include benchmarks for tertiary education entry points by comparing predominantly male-dominated jobs with female-dominated ones.

Claims of a lingering gender wage gap of up to 13 per cent at the South Burnett Regional Council were on Thursday rejected by a council spokesperson (pictured is CEO Mark Pitt pictured).

The union’s figures reveal South Burnett council roles predominantly filled by women at the lowest relative entry point paid slightly more ($61,870.38) than their male-dominated equivalents ($61,759.10).

But the gender pay gap returns at the three-year degree entry point.

At this level women-dominated jobs in the council are paid $69,992 compared to the $77,198.88 wage for men, a gap of $7206 and about 12 per cent.

At the equivalent level of another year on, that gap widens further to 13 per cent, thanks to a wage comparison of $71,185.66 to $79,051.65.

A South Burnett council spokesman disputed the data and said the council did not agree with the relativities outlined.

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New figures provided by the Services Union claim the current wage gap for graduate level positions at the South Burnett Regional Council was 12-13 per cent. Photo: Andrew Hedgman.

“(The) council considers that the most recent local government awards should be referred to when considering relativities and wage rates,” the spokeswoman said.

The wage rates in awards from a 2014 industry award modernisation process “do not reflect the relativities across classifications” as was claimed.

Services Union local government lead organiser Tom Rivers said the relativities “that were agreed to in Local Government back in 1992 have not changed and were agreed to by all parties, unions and employers”.

“We look forward to sitting down with council in the coming months to discuss council’s gender wage gap issue and how we can work jointly to address this,” Mr Rivers said.

“There is a significant gender pay gap issue in Queensland local government.

“There have been recent changes to the Queensland Industrial Relations Act that have put the gender pay gap to the front of the agenda.

“Councils now must provide detailed information on the gender wage gap and if there is an issue how they propose to address this issue.”

Mr Rivers said it was “important that areas that are traditionally female dominated are remunerated equally to areas that are male dominated where the training requirements, skill level and responsibilities are relative”.

Originally published as Gender pay gap: South Burnett council rejects claim of 13% gap