Penrith City Council Sustainability Indicators

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Principle 6:	Recognise and build on the distinctive characteristics of the City, including its human and cultural values, history and natural systems
Indicator LA14:	Ratio of basic salary of men to women by employee category.

2009/2010 Data 2008/2009 Data 2007/2008 Data 2006/2007 Data

Why use this indicator?

Equality of remuneration is a factor in retaining qualified and quality employees in the workforce. Where there is imbalance, an organisation can potentially damage its reputation and risk legal challenges on the basis of discrimination.

This indicator will measure Council's commitment to equity through the application of its salary system.

What is the current situation?

The average wage for females during 2010-2011 was approximately 97%, of the average male wage.

Council's salary structure provides for the payments of wages in accordance with the placement of the position within the salary administration system. This means that all staff have the opportunity to move through the salary steps for their position based on their skills and knowledge and regardless of gender.

The wage disparity between men and women is subject to a wide range of factors and can be a complex matter. The length of service of an employee affects an employee's ability to move through the salary range, therefore impacting on the overall ratio results.

Council has commenced a program of reviewing the step placement of staff and encouraging those who have a particular level of skill and knowledge to apply for the relevant step progression.

Band Level	Occupational Category	Average Female	Average Male	Average Yearly	Female to Male %
12	Clerk	$37,447.80		$37,447.80	100.00%
	Customer Relations Officer		$41,161.00	$41,161.00	0.00%
	Field Operator	$40,949.09	$38,563.60;	$39,254.14	106.19%
	12 Total	$37,447.80	$38,656.36	$39,212.53	104.54%
13	Clerk	$45,401.06	$45,058.80	$45,337.68	100.76%
	Customer Relations Officer	$43,039.39	$41,549.25	$42,986.64	103.59%
	Field Operator	$42,565.71	$44,822.10	$44,652.26	94.97%
	13 Total	$43,391.86	$44,696.75	$43,923.90	97.08%
14	Clerk	$50,528.09	$47,108.14	$49,779.97	107.26%
	Customer Relations Officer	$49,886.10	$50,387.24	$50,244.06	99.01%
	Field Operator	$49,100.73	$51,292.71	$51,184.91	95.73%
	14 Total	$50,342.55	$50,809.58	$50,669.47	99.08%
21	Admin Officer	$49,580.66		$49,580.66	100.00%
	Para-Professional	$45,341.88	$48,946.79	$46,053.37	92.64%
	Trades Officer	$45,815.47	$49,777.50	$46,872.01	92.04%
	21 Total	$46,247.52	$49,121.67	$46,748.52	94.15%
22	Admin Officer	$55,710.55	$55,109.00	$55,658.99	101.09%
	Para-Professional	$55,469.17	$56,998.18	$56,006.39	97.32%
	Trades Officer		$56,101.88	$56,101.88	0.00%
	22 Total	$55,607.10	$56,268.68	$55,925.64	98.82%
22	Admin Officer	$65,684.87	$63,521.88	$64,701.69	103.41%
	Para-Professional	$64,292.65	$71,098.96	$68,546.59	90.43%
	Trades Officer		$63,523.20	$63,523.20	0.00%
	23 Total	$64,756.72	$69,350.45	$67,471.20	93.38%
31	Professional Specialist	$52,943.80	$55,710.50	$53,069.55	95.03%
32	Professional Specialist	$64,092.30	$64,509.50	$64,201.82	99.35%
33	Professional Specialist	$76,559.09	$78,150.56	$77,553.76	97.96%
34	Professional Specialist	$87,812.06	$96,591.57	$93,847.97	90.91%
41	Manager / Admin base pkg	$130,701.86	$134,394.90	$132,548.38	97.25%
42	Manager / Admin base pkg	$162,786.00	$162,786.00	$162,786.00	100.00%
Grand Total		$72,970.94	$75,087.21	$73,300.65	97.18%

What is the desired trend?

An increase in equity between male and female remuneration.

What does this mean for the Sustainability of Penrith Council?

In an effort to retain qualified and skilled employees, and in line with Council's policy of equal opportunity, Council has recognised a need to align rates of pay more closely to reflect equality between males and females in the workforce.