I joined other ASU delegates at Claire Moore's office. Senator Moore committed to pursuing the matter and said she was seeking an urgent briefing with the Minister's office for all Qld representatives
Only eight days before it was due to take effect, the Labor Government has announced it will withdraw the Regulation which was set to finally deliver pay equity to thousands of Queensland SACS workers.
Liberal Senator Sue Boyce is crowing about the decision, saying, “It was the Coalition championing of the cause of the Community Sector workers and the employer organisations that has forced the Government to back down on this regulation in the interests of protecting these organisations.”
The Labor Government will now consult with employers in the sector before replacing the Regulation and only guarantee back pay to 1 October 2011 – stripping 21 months worth of back pay from thousands of workers. The Labor Government has bowed to the lobbying of a handful of employers. Yet there are many employers who would have been covered by the Regulation who are already paying the Pay Equity rates.
The federal Labor Government has delayed the making of a Regulation and in doing so is trying to hide from the fact that the “crisis” this sector faces from a Regulation is entirely within the Government’s power to fix – through fair and appropriate funding.
The withdrawal of the Regulation is a disgrace and a betrayal by the Labor Government of its supposed commitment to equal pay and their promise to protect the Queensland Pay Equity rates in the Federal system.
