Under a working title of ‘Making it Fair’ A new report by the House of Representatives Employment and Workplace Relations Committee has found the pay packets of full-time working women still fall well behind those of their male counterparts.
The 465 page report makes 63 recommendations to address the inequity and associated issues relating to increasing female participation in the workforce, including changes to Superannuation law:
Recommendation 37
That the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 be amended to remove the exemption from the payment of the 9 per cent charge for employees who earn less than $450 per month and that the required superannuation contributions be paid for all employees into a designated or approved superannuation fund of their choice
Recommendation 38
That the Government broaden the scope of the Superannuation Co-contribution scheme to include all low income earners.
Recommendation 39
That the Government establish a superannuation fund or modify Ausfund to be an available fund for the receipt of monies on behalf of these employees who earn less than $450 with any employer to reduce the likelihood of multiple administration costs charged to workers with multiple employers.
Recommendation 40
That the Government provide a long service leave scheme providing portability of service for workers, together with an equitable application of long service leave contributions by employers in appropriate industries.
Announcing the Report findings, Committee Chair, Ms Sharon Jackson MP added
“Australia should take a pro-active approach to address the gender pay gap. We need to plan for pay equity and deal with the barriers to women’s participation in the workforce. Increasing women’s participation in the workforce will lead to increases in productivity for the nation”.
Removing the $450 a month minimum threshold for the Super Guarantee has received widespread endorsement.
In keeping with the theme of equity in superannuation, Virgin Money has announced it will suspend fees on its super funds for women on maternity leave and men on paternity leave for up to 12 months.