Bargaining for Gender Equality in the Australian Public Service

Abstract

The concept of ‘equality bargaining’ emerged in Europe and the United Kingdom in the 1990s as an important method to advance women's interests at work. This paper examines ‘equality bargaining’ in the Australian context using a detailed case study of bargaining in an Australian public service agency. In this particular case, increased family provisions were successfully negotiated. The main determinant of successful equality bargaining was found to be the mainstreaming of a suite of provisions in the union's centralised log of claims which aim to achieve equality for female employees. Potentially, the findings from this case study have wider implications for enterprise bargaining in Australia, and suggest how unions can progress an equality agenda.