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 Home Campaigns Your Rights At Work News
Extra parental leave granted but will it be available?09 August 2005The Industrial Relations Commission has granted an extra 12 months parental leave than can be taken after the birth of a child. But the new entitlement may not be available to Australians under the radical new work laws proposed by the Howard Government. The decision in the ACTU's Work and Family test case means that anybody covered by a federal award can apply to take two years (up from one year) off after the birth of a child. They can also request part-time work when they come back to work. Employers are only able to reject the request of a staffmember if they have a good reason. HSU national secretary Craig Thomson said the decision was a good one and struck a balance between the needs of employers and employees who had families. "This also highlights the Industrial Relations Commission's critical role as an independent umpire in being able to strike a balance between the needs of workers and employers," he said. "Unfortunately it will be the last time the IRC can make a decision like this because of the radical changes the Government is proposing to work laws. The Federal Government has also refused to say whether the extra leave will be available for all Australians after its radical work laws go through parliament. Under its planned changes a new Fair Pay Standard will be established. Award conditions will be cut back to match those in the Fair Pay Standard. New enterprise agreements which currently have to improve on the award will only have to match that Fair Pay Standard. "The radical change the government is proposing is to make the Fair Pay Standard the benchmark against which new agreements have to be judged rather than the award as it is now," Mr Thomson explained. "That Fair Pay Standard includes only five provisions (minimum hourly rate of pay, sick leave, four weeks annual leave, 12 months unpaid parental leave and a 38 hour week). "If the government does not include the extra 12 months leave in the Fair Pay Standard it shows that it is not serious about addressing the difficulties thousands of families have in balance work and home life." Contact Details Health Services Union of Australia hsu@hsu.net.au |
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© 2003 Health Services Union (HSU) |
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