Industrial News: August 2009
Paid parental leave – a long and winding road
It has taken 30 years but the introduction of a universal paid parental leave scheme is finally a reality. Variously described as “historic, long overdue, a great first step”, the government announced details of the new scheme in the lead up to the May 2009 Budget. The government funded scheme will provide 18 weeks paid leave for parents who are the primary carers of a child born or adopted on or after 1 January 2011.
ANF members, together with many hundreds of other union members, made a significant contribution to the recent campaign through participating in the various branch activities and the online parental leave survey used to inform the ANF’s input into this issue.
Currently almost two thirds of employed women who have children do not have access to paid maternity leave. High income earners and public sector employees are currently more likely to be the main beneficiaries of paid leave arrangements.
In nursing, the provision of paid maternity leave varies widely depending on the state or territory, the sector of employment, practice setting, size of the workplace, type of employment and length of service. Nurses are more likely to have access to paid maternity leave if they work in the public sector where the entitlement ranges from 10 to 14 weeks paid leave. The private hospital sector generally provides a lesser amount of paid leave while other sectors such as residential aged care, private medical clinics, pathology and private practice provide little or no paid leave entitlement.
The universal scheme will enable primary carers access to at least 18 weeks paid leave at the minimum weekly wage, which is currently $543.78 per week. This is a significant step forward for all parents and the community in general, benefiting children and families, supporting employment, business and the economy and importantly recognising that having a child and taking time out for family reasons is part of the usual course of work and life for parents in the paid workforce.
The details so far:
- Provides paid postnatal leave for 18 weeks that can be shared by eligible parents for children born or adopted on or after 1 January 2011.
- It covers employees including casual workers, contractors and the self-employed who have:
- Been engaged in work continuously for at least 10 out of the 13 months prior to the birth or adoption of the child; and
- Worked at least 330 hours in the 10 month period (an average of around one day of paid work per week).
- It does not apply to working mothers (and other primary carers) who had an income of over $150,000 in the previous financial year.
- It can be taken in conjunction with or in addition to other leave entitlements such as paid maternity leave and annual leave entitlements under existing employment arrangements. For example, if you currently have access to 14 weeks paid parental leave in an enterprise agreement or other industrial instrument, the 18 weeks paid leave under the government scheme is in addition to that entitlement.
The government scheme does not include all the features advocated by unions. For example, the provision of paid paternity leave for partners and the inclusion of superannuation contributions in the 18 weeks paid leave. These and other matters will be reviewed as part of an evaluation process to be completed by the end of 2014. However, improvements to the scheme can also be pursued by unions as part of the bargaining process with employers for new collective agreements. We cannot wait another 30 years!
Further information:
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs website at http://www.fahcsia.gov.au
Productivity Commission Final Report on Paid Parental Leave http://www.pc.gov.au/projects/inquiry/parentalsupport
Debbie Richards
ANF Federal Industrial Officer