| Summary: | The long history of equal pay for women has yet to result in wage justice. In 1972 an historical decision of ‘equal pay for equal work’ was handed down by the Arbitration Commission. However, the notion of ‘comparable worth’ was not accepted at the time. In 1985, with women still only receiving 67% of men’s wages, the ACTU mounted another action in the industrial courts to have the notion of ‘comparable worth’ confirmed. Using nurses’ claims for better pay as a test case, it aimed to show that the nature of their work was comparable in many respects to that of better paid firemen, policemen and ambulance attendants. This program examines the history of equal pay and women’s rights, and follows three women who were heavily involved in the nurses’ case.
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