This document is based on work done by members of the Social Policy Committee in submissions to those inquiries, and in the Gender Budget document that has been prepared in response to the Federal Budget with additional material from eS4W and its member organisation FECCA. Relevant NFAW submissions are attached as appendices to this paper.
This document is based on work done by members of the Social Policy Committee in submissions to those inquiries, and in the Gender Budget document that has been prepared in response to the Federal Budget with additional material from eS4W and its member organisation FECCA. Relevant NFAW submissions are attached as appendices to this paper.
While the well-being of employees is a reasonable point of departure, the Commission takes as its unit of analysis the male employee, arguing that current labour standards should not be modified to accommodate the needs of feminised ‘groups’ of workers because this may lead employers to discriminate against women.
NFAW recommends to the Committee that the Bill be rejected out of hand. The long struggle by community and women’s groups, together with the union movement, for a national statutory Paid Parental Leave Scheme (PPL) culminated in the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010.
In Australia there are three pillars for retirement incomes – income support, superannuation and individual savings. This section addresses women and income support in the retirement incomes system.
NFAW and the Equality Rights Alliance submit that tax reform must be examined through a gendered lens to identify any impact that reform may have on women. Specifically, the economic impact on women are often the result of gender blindness that does not recognise the different effect that policies have on women because of the circumstances of women’s lives.
It has been the practice since 1984 for Federal Governments to produce a Women’s Budget Statement as one element of the official Budget Papers. In 2014 this practice ceased. There has been no explanation from the Government. It is regrettable that the Government has made this decision.
The Scheme enacted by the Parliament has the twin objectives of enhancing child and maternal well being and supporting parental work force participation. The universal Government scheme underpins whatever employees are able to obtain by negotiation with employers, with the aim of extending total paid leave as close as possible to a full 26 weeks recommended by the World Health Organisation.
The National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW), a non-politically aligned feminist organisation, in conjunction with experts from a range of women’s organisations, has prepared this submission to the Productivity Commission’s (the Commission) inquiry into the workplace relations framework.