Library workers in NSW equal-pay test case

The first Equal-pay Test Case under the new NSW Equal Remuneration Principle is now well-advanced. The proposed Library and Archives Award will cover library workers across a wide range of state public-sector agencies and is the subject of hearings now in-train in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission. ALIA has already given formal evidence to the Commission's hearings in support of the proposal for qualifications conferring eligibility for ALIA membership to be a part of the Award's classification criteria.

The Professional Officers Association [PSA] claim is for an average wage increase of just under 13 per cent, with increases at some classification levels as high as 17 per cent. The employer has at present offered an average of just under 9 percent. An outcome is expected before the end of the year.

The Test Case results from the NSW Pay Equity Inquiry in which librarians were found to be experiencing serious pay disadvantage. As a result of ALIA's submissions to the State Government, the category of librarian was selected by the Government as the sole professional group for specific support in that review. Arguments on behalf of librarians were put to the Inquiry as a 'Crown Case' by the Office of the Director for Equal Opportunity in Public Employment [ODEOPE].

At the Government's request, ALIA provided consultancy services to ODEOPE and the Premier's Department in construction of the Crown Case.