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Autumn 2004

Most workplaces don't provide paid leave for Mothers

DESPITE HACSU WINNING paid maternity leave for the majority of members, most other Australian workers are still missing out.

HACSU and the peak Australian union body, the ACTU, are continuing to push for more family-friendly workplaces in the wake of new research that shows a majority of Australia's workplaces (57%) do not provide paid maternity leave for mothers.

New data from a national survey conducted at the University of Sydney School of Business, found that low paid mothers -- many of whom are employed in casual or part-time jobs --are the least likely to have access to paid maternity leave.

Three out of four parents (74%) did not use or did not know of their entitlement to unpaid parental leave after the birth of a child. Fathers are significantly less likely to take unpaid leave, while women on high incomes (over $70,000 a year) are more likely to take time off without pay to care for a newborn child.

The findings strongly support HACSU and the ACTU's push for national paid maternity leave scheme that provides all mothers with 14 weeks pay at the minimum wage.

The ACTU is running a test case on work and family before the Australian Industrial Relations Commission with hearings due later this year.