Maternity leave: who should pay for what?
The majority of working families currently carry the cost of maternity leave, with help from the Government’s baby bonus.
Australia needs to adapt our employment conditions to the new realities – to continue our economic growth we need women in the workforce, but only women can give birth and breastfeed, and mostly the care for babies is undertaken by women.
In a Newspoll survey commissioned by NFAW last year, ¾ of people were in favour of paid maternity leave. Of these, 78% favoured a scheme funded by employers, employees and government.
“Although more employers than ever before are paying for maternity leave, the percentage of women receiving it has dropped to 45% of employed women” said Marie Coleman, NFAW spokeswoman. “70% of married women of childbearing age are in paid work, compared to less than 33% in the 1960s. In addition, women still largely carry unpaid work in the home.”
“Having a child is the most important thing that happens to most men and women.”
“When you have children, you want to be with them in the early stages. Research shows that the wellbeing of new babies is strongly correlated with their future health, educational achievements, earning capacity and ability to form relationships.“
“NFAW supports the Perry Plan of providing 28 weeks full earnings replacement maternity leave for working mothers, funded through a combination of the Baby Bonus (provided to all women) plus a levy on all employers of .5% of their total wage bill and .5% of the wages of employees earning $10,000 or more per year.”
“This is far less money than most working mothers now pay through lost wages, and given the cost of living, few families can afford to do without those wages.”
“Those who say paid maternity leave should be fully funded by government have forgotten how government raises money – by applying taxes. NFAW believes it is fair for employers to pay their share, and .5% levy on wages for paid maternity leave is only a little more than the .2% levy applied by government for the gun ‘buy back’ scheme.”
“NFAW also supports providing fathers with the ability to take paid leave on the birth of their children, whether the mother is working or not.”
NFAW, represented by Jenni Colwill, Vice-President NFAW, Marie Coleman, Chair of NFAW’s Social Policy Committee and Julia Perry, a member of the NFAW Social Policy Committee, will appear in front of the Productivity Commission Inquiry into paid maternity and parental leave on Wednesday 7 May, in Canberra.
Media inquiries to:
Marie Coleman, NFAW on 0414 483 067