Women earn '$100 per week less than men'

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) analysis, based on recent Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, shows full-time female workers now earn on average 10 per cent less than men.

Released ahead of International Women's Day on Thursday, the figures also show real wages of female workers have fallen two per cent in the past year.

ACTU president Sharan Burrow said the research revealed women in the Australian workforce now suffered the same gender pay gap they did in 1978.

"The federal government is presiding over a significant worsening of women's rights to equal pay and the right to family-flexible working conditions," Ms Burrow said in a statement.

Close to one in four women rely on award provisions compared to only 15 per cent of male workers, the union boss said.

As a result, the erosion of award conditions - including penalty rates, leave loading and public holiday payments - was having a serious impact on women's take home pay.

Ms Burrow accused Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey of denying there was a problem with unequal pay.

"The minister should not be proud of a system where mothers returning from parental leave are expected to work in the lowest paid jobs in our country and have the least job security and least control over their hours of work," she said.