HSA launches casual pay equity campaign at International Women’s Day

HSA have officially launched their new campaign, aimed at pay equity for casual workers in the hair and beauty industry. Members and staff spoke at the International Women’s Day march in Sydney last weekend, telling an audience of unionists and supporters about the struggle that casual workers face.

As it stands, casual hair stylists are entitled to a 25% loading on top of their regular working hours. However, this loading fails to take into account weekend penalty rates – meaning that casual hair stylists on a Saturday earn just $2 per hour more than permanent workers, without the security of sick pay, or annual leave.
Most other trades have an increased allowance for casual workers, but hair stylists and beauty therapists have so far missed out, which is why we’ve launched our #turnupthevolume campaign, to demand pay equity for casual workers and to bring their wages in line with similar trades.
When the Fair Work Commission ruled in our favour earlier this year, they said in their ruling that hair styling is a skilled trade, and that hair stylists are tradespeople. Based on this, we think it’s only fair that casual workers have their pay calculated fairly, and we’re taking our case to the Fair Work Commission to have the Hair and Beauty Award changed.
We’re calling on the industry to join our fight for fairness. There is a lot of work we need to do to collect evidence and organise witnesses, and that’s where you come in. If you’re a casual worker happy to tell your story, we need you. All it takes is a few minutes on the phone with our legal team, and you’ll be making a difference in our campaign. Just call us on 1300 898 971, or reach out to us via Intercom – the little green box in the corner.
We also have a petition, so please sign and pledge your support if you haven’t already. The more signatures we have, the louder our voices!
But most importantly, we need all the help and resources we can to make sure our campaign is a huge success. If you’re not already a member with HSA, now is a great time to come on board. We rely heavily on our membership fees to keep our campaigns going. Your fees will go towards our legal case, our day-to-day needs, and our stellar support team.
Plus, as a member, you get heaps of awesome benefits, like one-on-one support with our expert team to resolve workplace disputes, help with reclaiming unpaid wages or super, and mediation on bullying and harassment claims. With your help, we can get casual hair stylists the wages they deserve!