Equal Remuneration Case

01/02/12

The Coalition welcomes the finalisation of this long running case involving the social and community services sector.

Given the important role that the social and community sector provide to our community, care must now be taken to ensure that services are not reduced or jeopardised, and that jobs are not lost.

It is up to the Government to make sure that community services organisations do not close or reduce services as a result of the cost pressures that this decision may cause.

Equal remuneration is important, but so is the maintenance of the significant services these organisations provide.

Even the Full Bench itself expressed concern about the impact of this decision on some parts of the sector who provide services for which costs cannot be recovered or receive any government funding.

Given Labor’s track record on the Carbon Tax, poker machine reforms and the infamous ‘500,000 jobs’ promise, there will be many today who will quite rightly doubt if Labor will be able to make good on their recent promise to fund this increase.

How the Government deals with this decision is now more important than the decision itself.