Australian unions are stepping up their campaign to secure 10 days of paid reproductive health leave in all workplaces.
The It’s For Every Body campaign is fighting to expand the National Employment Standards and Fair Work Act to include reproductive health leave and protection from discrimination based on reproductive health.
Reproductive health issues affect most workers and include conditions like menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, chronic illnesses and reproductive procedures.
Women are significantly impacted by these conditions and often leave the workforce earlier than planned and face financial consequences due to diminished super balances.
IEU-QNT Assistant Secretary/Treasurer Rebecca Sisson said employers had a responsibility to support employees in managing their reproductive health.
“Work is a fundamental part of most people’s identities, but it is not the only part,” Rebecca said.
“Workers make a huge difference in their workplaces each and every day but they are also human beings with health conditions and families to manage.
“Many families face the challenges of accessing fertility treatments and many individual workers live with reproductive health conditions.
“They should not face exclusion from the workforce or a lack of paid time to manage these conditions.”
Rebecca said IEU members had won paid reproductive health leave in some workplaces but that it was time to set a standard for all workers.
“Paid reproductive health leave is about every body and should become part of minimum employment standards.”
The It’s For Every Body campaign is being jointly led by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the Queensland Council of Unions (QCU).
ACTU President Michele O’Neil highlighted the importance of implementing paid reproductive health leave to retain experienced workers.
“Women in particular, are retiring far earlier than they would have if the workplace offered better support to manage reproductive health issues so they could be supported to remain in work,” Michele said.
“Whether it is unions campaigning for equal pay or paid parental leave – it is always a tough fight to win these conditions, but we need them so that women as well as men can balance work and care and stay in their jobs.”
QCU General Secretary Jacqueline King said generations of working women and men have had to show up to work in pain or juggle sometimes very personal, demanding treatments.
“The time has come for workplaces to recognise that all employees, regardless of gender, may need time or flexibility in how they work at some point in their working life to address symptoms or issues specific to their reproductive health,” Jacqueline said.
“We know that one in six Australian couples will undergo fertility treatment and one in seven men are affected by prostate cancer. We also know that women drop out of the workforce because of perimenopause and menopause at a rate much earlier than men, impacting their earnings as well as their superannuation balance at retirement.
“It’s time we have a mature conversation about how we can better support workers undergoing these kinds of treatments and issues alongside work, so that we can break down stigma and address these inequalities.
“Reproductive health leave as a national employment standard will support a workforce which is happier, healthier, more productive and more inclusive.”
Find out more about the It’s For Every Body campaign here
