Case Law Public sector librarians equal remuneration case [2002] NSWIRC

In this landmark case, the NSW IRC found that the work of librarians, archivists and technicians has been and is undervalued on a gender basis and that librarians and archivists should be considered to be ‘professions’ for the purposes of remuneration.

The case was about the design of classification and grading structures as well as about gender-related undervaluation. The case was built on the findings of the case study developed for the NSW Pay Equity Inquiry by the office of the Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment, in which two points-factor job evaluation systems were applied in comparing the work of librarians and geologists. The case study also related to award structures and histories, career paths and remuneration. The study found a difference of nearly 20% between rates for a Senior Librarian Grade 2 and a Senior Geologist year 4, and that geologists had less difficult barriers to progressing through the pay steps in their award. The Pay Equity Inquiry found clear evidence of undervaluation of the work of female librarians and resistance to full recognition of librarianship as a profession.

The Commission ruled that library and information professions were comparable to other professions, including scientific officers, psychologists, and lawyers. Relevant factors in the comparison were the requirement for a bachelor’s degree or equivalent for entry; career progression based on experience and merit-based appointment for promotion.

In determining how to remedy this historical undervaluation, the Commission decided to make an interim award of approximately 16 per cent to ensure no further delay in the granting of an immediate pay increase. The increases applied to several thousand NSW library and information workers across several agencies, and produced total pay rises of up to 37 per cent, the largest ever won by Australian library workers.

The case had a significant focus on how the value of the work is assessed. Evidence dealt with the use of qualifications, points-factor job evaluation schemes and position level descriptors.

John Buchanan, Deputy Director of Research for ACIRRT, said that this decision ‘illustrates that while comparable worth must be decided on a case-by-case basis, smart employers will recognise the inevitable and move ahead of the pack to become an employer of choice for women and to access better quality labour’..

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