Bargaining Agenda

Work Rights for Living!

We all have busy 21st century lives and it’s over time for workplaces to change to reflect this reality. This can benefit everyone – employers will benefit from higher productivity, improved recruitment and retention and better staff morale and it will dramatically improve the quality of workers’ lives and levels of job satisfaction.

The PSA Women’s Network is developing an agenda called Work Rights for Living. This will give us a “to do” list when we’re talking to employers, negotiating employment agreements and lobbying for change to legislation.

What do you think needs to change?

We’ve set out some ideas to get the discussion started. Are they good ideas? Are they unrealistic or are we not aiming high enough? You can add your comments in each of the sections that follow.

Got friends and colleagues who might also be interested in joining in this discussion? Please forward this link on to them.

Want to sit down with a group of colleagues and come up with some quick responses? Great idea! You can enter these in the sections that follow too.

Go Back

Family violence

06/12/2011 12:35:00 p.m.

American research suggests that 10% of the workforce have experienced violence from their partner in the past 12 months. The impact on work performance puts job security at risk, with up to half the women in one study reporting losing a job, at least in part due to family violence.

What is needed?

• Recognition from employers that family violence sometimes affects employees and a commitment to support employees in this situation.

• Access for employees experiencing family violence to paid special leave for medical appointments, legal proceedings and other activities related to family violence.

• Ability to take paid carers/dependent leave for those supporting a person experiencing family violence to accompany them to court, to hospital or to mind children.

• Employers to agree to reasonable requests for flexible working, relocation, changes to work contact details etc. to avoid harassing contact.

• Access to EAP from professionals trained specifically in family violence.