Lax Merit and the fair pay wars : is pay equity 'slippin' away'?

In March 2006 the Full Bench of the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales utilised that state's equal remuneration principle to address the gender undervaluation of childcare work. In doing so the Full Bench explicitly rejected employer arguments that increased rates of pay for childcare workers would disrupt existing award relativities and result in centre closures, increased parent fees and job losses. While this decision was thought to have a wide ranging impact on a significant area of feminised work, its influence will be short lived. The introduction of the Howard government's New Federal Workplace Relations System under the WorkChoices legislation provides employers with the opportunity to reargue the NSW equal remuneration case. This opportunity is facilitated by the operation of the award 'rationalisation' process and the determination of minimum wages and classification scales by the new Australian Fair Pay Commission. Employers are utilising these opportunities to argue for cuts to the award wages of childcare workers, both in nominal and real terms.