Business representatives, trade unions and parental advocates are united in appeals to reform Australia’s paid parental leave scheme.
Applications submitted to a parliamentary committee reviewing work and care in Australia largely focus on the need for increased regime rights to ensure equal access for mothers and fathers.
Workers currently have access to 20 weeks of paid parental leave at the minimum wage.
The main assistant, usually the woman, is entitled to 18 weeks while the secondary assistant is entitled to two.
The Business Council of Australia said it is one of the least generous programs in the OECD.
The average paid parental leave scheme in OECD countries is 50 weeks.
In its presentation to the committee, the board said restructuring the program to enable and incentivize both parents to share caring responsibilities would help reduce the gender pay gap and benefit the economy.
“(The council) proposes a model where families will have the choice of determining what is best for them, including offering both parents the opportunity to … maintain a constant bond with their employer while they have young children, “indicates the memorial. .
Support group The Parenthood has called for the scheme to be increased to 52 weeks with an old-age pension, to be shared between two parents.
“Compared to their global counterparts, Australian moms are lagging behind in attending work after babies and never catch up,” the presentation reads.
“This is due to an inadequate paid parental leave statutory regime that promotes ‘mothers as primary caregivers’ and ‘fathers as primary household heads’.”
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Foundation has said that flexible work arrangements do not benefit male workers as they should.
His argument indicated that men were twice as likely as women to see their demands for flexible work arrangements diminish.
He said the threshold for an employer’s right to refuse flexible employment arrangements should be higher.
The commission will hold its first public hearing of the inquiry on Friday.
He will listen to advocates for early childhood, seniors and carers, as well as from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.