The ACTU has welcomed the current debate around family friendly work arrangements and calls for the government to give "the tiger some teeth".
"It's vital that the debate continues especially considering 44% of mothers say they do not feel comfortable taking time out from work to care for their children because their workplace is not family friendly," Ged Kearney, ACTU President said.
"And 50% of women with two year old children who are forced to choose between family and work remain unemployed. This is crazy when you consider the impact on our economy."
"If we want to improve productivity and ensure women get a fair go then we need to make sure that the onus is on employers to prove they are being reasonable and if they are not, that there is a right to appeal. Let's give this tiger some teeth."
"We lack meaningful laws to give women a genuine and enforceable right to find a balance between family and work. This week Julia Gillard acknowledged the importance of this issue, however what was proposed only gives people the right to ask for family friendly arrangements and the employer to say yes or no, end of story," she said.
Ms Kearney said that the practical solution was that if an employer of a medium to large organisation is unreasonable then a third party should get involved. Like all workplace issues, the pregnant woman or new mother or carer of a disabled or elderly adult should be allowed to contact Fair Work Australia so they can judge if the employer really considered the situation.
"Unfortunately, laws without appeal can't guarantee fairness. We are not saying that any unreasonable request should be granted but if there is a solution then let's make sure it's being considered."
Facts
In Australia in 2009, 4.1 million employees had responsibilities for unpaid caring work. [Human Rights Commission Valuing Care report]
Only 35 per cent of mothers have returned to work by the time their child is 12 months (meaning 65% do not yet return), and only a half of mothers are back at work by the time the child is 2 years old. [Fair Work Australia]
The Working Australians Census found the single biggest thing that would improve the work life of employees with caring responsibilities was having the flexibility to balance work and family. [ACTU Working Australians Census]
However, they also said they felt that sometimes their workplace wasn't always a supportive environment, with over two in five (44.4%) saying they did not feel comfortable taking time out to meet their caring responsibilities. [ACTU Working Australians Census]
Insecure work, is not family friendly and not the answer, 35 per cent of mothers of children under 12 are employed casually, and have no paid sick leave or carer's leave. [Fair Work Australia]
Human Rights Commission Valuing Care report:
When employed, female parents are more likely to work part-time than male parents: 66 per cent of employed females with children aged under six years worked part-time compared to 7 per cent of employed males with children of this age; (p5)
Survey in March 2012, found that 66 per cent of male employees and 77 per cent of female employees with pre-school aged children were not aware of the new right to request flexible work. (p37)
Media contact:
Eleni Hale 0418 793 885