Universal Paid Maternity Leave for Australian Women
Dear Members of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia,
We, the undersigned, support the right of all women in Australia to access Paid Maternity Leave.
- Currently, Australian is one of only 2 OECD countries without universal paid maternity leave. The International Labour Organisation recommends that women be entitled to at least 14 weeks paid maternity leave after the birth of their child. Most nations, developed or developing, have periods of leave either longer than or close to that minimum. Why should Australian working women be left behind?
- We believe that Paid Maternity Leave is necessary to ensure women have the financial means to stay at home following the birth of a child and not feel pressured to return to work before they are ready.
- We believe Paid Maternity Leave fosters workforce attachment in women who take time off to have a child or children. Maintaining workforce attachment also benefits organisations that have often invested considerable time and money in training an employee.
- We believe Paid Maternity Leave has a distinct role to play in creating equality for Australian women. The Baby Bonus and current Federal Government tax benefits provide financial assistance to all women (and families) quite independent of their status as workers or otherwise. However, these schemes do not address the issue of workforce attachment and participation and do not address the severe financial penalties faced by women who take leave from work for the purposes of having children. The Baby Bonus is not designed as income replacement but as a supplement to assist with the significant costs associated with childbirth as such it fails to recognise that many women feel compelled to return to work before they are ready, in order to maintain family income levels.
We support a universal government-funded Paid Maternity Leave scheme, providing for at least 14 weeks income replacement, for all Australian working women.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned.
Total Signatures to Date = 869