CPSU members and staff were in a crowd of about 200 people who braved heavy winter rain in Sydney today to rally in support of paid maternity leave.Australia is one of only two developed nations – the other being the USA – that does not provide paid maternity leave. Ironically Australia once led the world on this issue, having introduced a maternity allowance in 1912.
Today’s rally was organised by Marie Claire magazine and speakers included the NSW Minister for Women Verity Firth, Democrats Senator Natasha Stott—Despoja and Marie Claire editor Jackie Frank.
In an impassioned speech Ms Firth pointed out that under WorkChoices the situation for women wanting to have children is even more difficult than ever before.
See here for further information.
Have your say: Most CPSU members are already entitled to paid maternity leave but this is not the case in the wider community, with two-thirds of women having no access to any paid maternity leave. Should the Government extend paid maternity leave to all women in the workforce? Post a comment below.
5 comments:
It is outrageous that Australia is one of only two country's that does not provide maternity leave. We are a rich country! We can afford it! The idea that we can't afford it is just so ridicuilous. Every other developed country in the world (bar America) can afford so so can we. What's the problem, is John Howard's attitude to women still stuck in his 50s mind set?
Patrick, Melbourne
Yes the government should legislate for paid parental leave. The dis-attachment from the workforce for parenting purposes that that most often affects women, (as women more often earn less money), is a big contributor to the feminisation of poverty. It reduces lifetime super contributions, skills readiness and career advancement opportunities. This is exponentially more disadvantages to the parenting partner, (most often the woman), if a relationship does not survive as about 50% do not. This situation leaves this partner financially equitable with the non-parenting partner as the wealth accumulated is splitonly in terms of the time spent in the relationship and not it terms of the lost earning opportunities over a life time due to this significant work force dis-attachment . Overseas experience shows that when paid parental leave is provided women return to the work force sooner and male partners spend more time sharing this dis-attachment.
What type of Paid parental leave should we have?
I believe it should be employer funded to the amount of the salary/wages that would have been earned and pro-rata between parenting partners. This is NOT an expensive out-lay for employers – rather it is the equivalent of an extra long service leave entitlement per employee, (approximately 2 children per couple, divided by two as only one partner takes it = 14 weeks extra leave over an average employees career). It is also an investment in keeping skilled employees productive and in the work force and reduces recruitment costs. The productivity both through skill retention and employee satisfaction as happy non-stressed employees are productive, (at the moment how many blokes are stressed out at work as they are paying a mortgage now on one income with an extra family member to think about and care for?).
The advantage of making it available at the current waged/salaried rate and pro-rata is that it enables parenting partners to come to their own genuine child parenting arrangement. Currently the major reason cited for a woman leaving the workforce for child caring reasons is that she earns less money so this is the least financially damaging move for the family. With the pro-rata arrangement this is irrelevant and parenting partners can decide with out any financial penalty how they will parent, eg they may decide that one partner will parent for three days of the working week whilst the other will parent for the remaining tow days of the parenting week. This will also have the positive unintended consequence of employers beginning to be understand that parenting is the responsibility both partners, not just the woman, and it exists in the employment context and is not separate from this context as it is no-longer only a “woman’s issue”.
One major drawbacks of a government funded scheme which set at the minimum wage is that the scheme will be subject to budgetary pressures and this effectively removes the issue from an industrial right context and relegates it to the realms of welfare. The other major drawback is that it will also effectively enshrine the continued feminisation of poverty as it will more less ensure that the current trend of women being financially burdened with the cost of the workplace dis-attachment for parenting purposes will continue long into the future.
Sue
It's hard to believe in 2007 the Australian Government will not follow through for paid maternity leave for all women in the workforce. On one hand you have the Govt paying us to have babies; wasn't the catch phrase something like one for yourself, one for your husband, and one for your country??? What a joke. That coupled with soaring, unrealistic and unsupportive child care availability and costs, plus now this situation with paid maternity leave? It's almost comical until you realise you are affected, or know someone how is affected by these contradicting, unfair rules. I'd much rather watch a dog chase it's tail than have faith in the Government to right these hypocritical wrongs - I know that at least the dog would catch his tail!
i really worried about when i decide to start a family, how is it going to be only on one income, can we really afford to do it. then there's bills and the mortage on top of that :(
I would love to consider having a family, but as we could not possibly live on just one income it just doesn't seem possible. I want to stay in the workforce, as this is who I am, but unless paid maternity leave becomes a reality I may have to forgo motherhood to do this. I find it ridiculous that Australia can pride itself on being a first world country, provide advances in technology, and have huge budget surplus each year thanks to the Commonwealth Government's budgeting, but yet we fall behind in providing mothers with paid leave. Put some of that surplus into investment trusts to be used to provide paid maternity leave, so that we can keep valuable workers in the workforce, but allow them to share in the delight of raising a family.
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