WHEN SALARIES DON’T STACK UP

New laws will put the onus on employers to close the gender pay gap.

We often talk about the fact that the HVAC&R workforce is predominantly male – and the need for a better balance. A related issue is the difference between the average earnings for workers of different genders, and its cumulative organisational effect. This is known as the gender pay gap.

And it is a major issue. According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), Australia’s national gender pay gap is 14.1 per cent. In other words, from May 2022, women in Australia earned $263.90 less than men each week.

In the construction sector, this gap is higher than the national average. And it’s actually getting worse. In 2022 it was 18.8 per cent, up from 16.6 per cent in 2021.

Gap Analysis

To address this issue, the federal government has introduced the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023 into parliament.

From 2024, the WGEA will publish gender pay gaps of employers with 100 or more workers, shifting the responsibility for action from the industry to individual companies.

“In reporting gender pay gaps, WGEA will look at the difference between the average earnings for men and women at organisations,” says Dr Rachel Howard, Senior Advisor at 89 Degrees East. “For the first time, members of the public, media and government will be able to search company-specific gender pay gap data on the WGEA website.”

The information in the 2024 reports will be based on data reported to March 31, 2023. As well as submitting their filings for the public reports, employers can provide a statement outlining their actions to address the gender pay gap.

“While many companies, particularly those in male-dominated industries, will not be able to close their gender pay gap before public reporting commences, they can take steps to improve it over time, and to create gender equality strategies designed to achieve continual improvement,” says Dr Howard.

HVAC&R FOCUS

There are unknowns as we move into this new set-up. Hopefully, the new rules will give us a better view of what is happening in the HVAC&R sector, but it’s not clear yet how sector-specific data could be collected. There is also the question of how the pay gap will be calculated and reported. For example, could a contracting firm bring on five new female apprentices, only to find that because they are paid a lower salary than other workers, the company’s gender pay gap actually looks worse?

Ura Sarfejoo, M.AIRAH, is Pacific Leader, Integrated Technologies – Digital Solutions and Sustainable Infrastructure at Johnson Controls. She is also the chair of the Women of AIRAH special technical group (STG) and a board director at AIRAH. She says that the bill is a step in the right direction.

“While the new bill currently only applies to businesses with 100 employees or more, I certainly hope that it serves as a wake-up call for all organisations big and small,” she says.

“I hope it encourages the whole industry to be more mindful of the gender pay gap and take proactive measures to close it.

“Like many other industries, the HVAC&R industry is facing significant challenges in attracting and retaining talent. Ensuring that we have more equitable, diverse and inclusive workplaces will guarantee better outcomes for individual organisations as well as the industry as a whole.”

Skills summary

■ What?

A guide to HVAC system requirements for effective control.

■ Who?

Relevant for anyone involved with developing, designing, procuring, installing, integrating and managing buildings and building control systems.

HVAC system requirements for effective control

Effective control system performance requires careful design of the mechanical system and selection of components. Consideration needs to be given to the following by the mechanical system designer and the control engineer:

1. Design distribution system to deliver air to the space

Extend ductwork to all parts of the space.

• Insulate ductwork if it runs through a space where the temperature is considerably different from that of the air within the duct, or if the space dew point is likely to be above the supply air temperature.

• Locate RA grilles where they will aid in distribution and eliminate short circuiting of the supply air.

• Make any necessary provision for transfer or relief air, e.g. transfer ducts, door grilles or door undercuts.

2. Select the correct type of diffusers for the space

Do not have low ceiling diffusers blow directly downward.

• Use specialised diffusers for high-ceiling applications to prevent hot air stratification. Use several small diffusers rather than one large one for better air distribution/mixing.

• For variable air volume systems, prioritise selection of diffusers that provide high diffusion performance at low flow to maximise potential flow turndown.

3. Size and select the correct type of heating coils

• Size coils to meet their maximum loads. Avoid oversized coils for best control.