Your Rights at Work: Paid Maternity Leave Email Action

Paid Maternity Leave - Email Action

Australian women have been campaigning for 30 years for a universal paid maternity leave scheme. Australia is one of only 2 OECD countries without statutory paid maternity leave, and indeed, if we don’t act quickly, we may well be the last.

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Paid Maternity Leave Email Action

YOUR MESSAGE

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The Rudd Labor Government has an historic opportunity to introduce a paid maternity leave scheme for Australian working families.

The millions of women who now make up nearly half the workforce are more educated and skilled than at any other time in Australia’s history. On average, those taking time out to start a family already have 10 years experience in the workforce.

One of the biggest discoveries of other OECD countries is that paid maternity leave, whether offered by the employer or government, overwhelmingly keeps women connected to the workforce. Without it, many stop work altogether and find it hard to return.

Australia already suffers from one of the lowest rates of labour force participation by mothers in the 24 to 45 age group in the developed world.

We can’t afford to lose the knowledge, expertise and spending power of our working women; they are essential to the continuing economic growth of this country. 
 
Another adverse effect is that some women are being forced to return to work before they are ready.

Even in recent prosperous years, the cost of living has been placing an unhealthy pressure on many working mothers to return to work too early to keep the family financially afloat.

The loss of income can mean a struggle to put decent food on the table, no way to pay for medical care such as a visit to the dentist let alone make mortgage payments and pay everyday bills.

The social, psychological and medical cost of having women back at work before they have physically recovered or established breast-feeding and bonded with their newborn babies cannot be measured and should not be tolerated in any forward-looking nation.

A government-funded paid maternity leave scheme must be judged as a long term economic and social measure that will help retain as many jobs as possible in a tough climate, keep productivity on track and build a healthy and prosperous community.

The Productivity Commission calculates that an 18 week scheme would only represent a 2% increase in spending on existing family assistance measures.  As a stimulatory package, paid maternity leave would boost spending within the local economy and kick-start a far-sighted approach to nation building at a time when we need it most.

Australia is one of only 2 OECD countries without a scheme and if we don’t act quickly we may well be the last.

Paid Maternity Leave must be provided for in the 2009 Budget.

Sincerely,

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