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Paid Maternity LeavePaid Maternity Leave - The next stepsWays of commemorating those women and men that helped campaign for paid maternity leave are being considered. We'll keep you up-to-date with the latest in the next steps for the Paid Maternity Leave campaign through this page. On this page:
An Historic AchievementFrom Sharan Burrow, ACTU President What a wait it’s been. Thirty years after Australian women and unions first began campaigning for paid maternity leave, the Rudd Government has finally delivered. The 18-week universal paid maternity leave scheme which will be in tonight’s Federal Budget corrects a massive market and policy failure that has seen Australia become one of only two OECD nations that do not offer some form of paid maternity leave. How shameful for a country as wealthy and prosperous as Australia to have been left behind by not only the likes of the United Kingdom, Canada and most European countries, but even Tanzania and the Republic of Congo. 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. It would be economically unproductive and an extravagant waste of public and private investment to see women drop out, or forced out, of the workforce indefinitely. The minority of women benefiting from such civilised conditions are largely white-collar professionals. It’s the army of casuals, part-timers, self-employed and low paid women with no access to any form of paid maternity leave who are most vulnerable, and much more so in a volatile economic climate. They are often the primary carers in the vast majority of Australian families that rely on two incomes to pay bills, rent or mortgage. 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 social, psychological and medical costs of having women back at work before they have physically recovered or established breast-feeding and a bond with their newborn babies cannot be measured or tolerated in any forward-looking nation. After 30 years of campaigning, the wait until the scheme commences in 2011 will feel like the blink of an eye. It is disappointing to hear some employer lobby groups already whingeing and finding ways to frustrate the implementation of the scheme. The truth is that employers have got off lightly. The government-funded scheme will not cost them an extra cent. The government-funded scheme is a great first step. The ACTU and unions will continue to help working women bargain for measures to help balance their work and family responsibilities. But by all means, let’s celebrate this historic achievement. It’s long overdue. Unions welcome paid maternity leave scheme for working mothersUnions welcome the historic introduction a universal, government-funded paid maternity leave scheme covering the majority of Australian women and their families. “The campaign to win this essential piece of social infrastructure has taken 30 long years,” ACTU President Sharan Burrow said today. “This is a major achievement for the thousands of women and men who have worked so hard to bring this scheme to fruition. “Importantly, the scheme will cover hundreds of thousands of women in lower paid jobs with poor job security, especially in hospitality and retail where there’s been very limited access to paid maternity leave. “The Rudd Government has rightly concluded that this money will go directly into spending on the necessities that go with having a new baby at a time when most families have been reduced to living on one wage.” “It also recognises that paid maternity leave is good for business and the economy because it will help keep skilled, experienced female staff attached to the workforce.” Treasurer Wayne Swan has today confirmed that a universal paid maternity leave scheme will go ahead, with funding to be committed in Tuesday’s Budget. Ms Burrow said the 18-week scheme would give mothers time to bond with and breastfeed their babies without financial stress forcing them back to work too early, sometimes within weeks, as is currently the case. “The ACTU and unions will continue to help working women bargain for measures to help balance their work and family responsibilities,” said Ms Burrow. Paid Maternity Leave Digital Video Petition
Watch our VideosWe're going to share the videos we receive for the digital petition at the Rights at Work YouTube Channel And we'll also put up our own videos as well as those from supporters that attend public hearings. Better still subscribe to the Rights at Work Channel and get updates sent directly to you. Watch the ACTU's Women's Breakfast Forum The Forum was held on 24 February with an excellent turn out of more than 100 supporters of Paid Maternity Leave and its inclusion in the 2009 federal budget.
More informationContact: Chloe Gaul, Giulia Baggio, Alex Schlotzer or Belinda Tkalcevic on (03) 9664 7333 |
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