NFAW is grateful for the invitation to contribute to the review of the operation of the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia's Jobs and Economic Recovery) Act 2021 (Cth) (the FW SAJER Act). We note, however, that 12 months is a short time in which to establish reliable impact data, especially when employment behaviour during that period has also been affected by the national pandemic response.
Submission to the Senate Select Committee on Job Security’s Inquiry into the impact of insecure or precarious employment on the economy, wages, social cohesion and workplace rights and conditions. This submission is being made by the National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW).
The changes to the Fair Work Act proposed in the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia's Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill will affect women and men in different ways because the structure of the workforce is not gender neutral. In the case of the current legislative package, most of the proposed changes actively remove rights and entitlements of women by targeting female dominated sectors.
Women are significantly more likely than men to rely on the award safety net than agreements (Fair Work Commission, 2014, ix). This is because women tend to be in industries, workplaces and jobs that are hard to unionise – contracted ‘caring’ and service delivery industries, small and decentralised workplaces, shops and restaurants, and casualised work.
