Union wins extra support for new families on International Women’s Day - Public Service Association

Union wins extra support for new families on International Women’s Day

Union wins extra support for new families on International Women’s Day – March 2018 (PDF version)

On International Women’s Day, the Public Service Association of NSW is proud to welcome an agreement to better support new families through altruistic surrogacy arrangements, permanent fostering and out of home care arrangements.

The NSW Government reached agreement on Tuesday and issued an industrial instrument to clarify the arrangements for workers accessing parental leave when starting new families through altruistic surrogacy and permanent out of home care orders.

The Industrial Determination (found HERE) extends unpaid parental leave, paid parental leave, and extended parental leave for altruistic surrogacy and permanent care arrangements for primary and secondary carers.

“Our union has won the right for new parents to access parental leave for over four decades, and this agreement will assist many working women thinking about starting a family who could not before,” says Stewart Little, General Secretary of the PSA.

“The Productivity Commission stated that paid parental leave is often seen as a key influence for workers returning to their employer after childbirth.

“Whilst families are now able to benefit from medical advances to form families through surrogacy, unfortunately both surrogacy and permanent fostering through permanent care orders presented problems for application of parental leave provisions for many employers in the sector.

“These were formerly based around the birth dates or adoption date.

“This caused delays in the granting of leave or the inability to access leave for many workers, adding to financial stress for many new families.

“Whilst the processes of forming families in this way may involve a number of legal and medical steps, the new Industrial Determination affecting workers in the core public sector, makes accessing parental leave available when new parents need it.

“The PSA will be seeking that other employers outside the core public sector adopt these provisions without delay.

“We hope that this will help the PSA’s primary carers, who are often women, manage their families and careers better with this provision.

“The PSA is currently undertaking other campaigns to support women at work, including our pay equity case to assist 21000 school administration staff and learning support officers access equal pay for their roles with similar higher paid male dominated occupations.

“The PSA would like to acknowledge those union members who have driven the disputes and pushed to have this condition recognised and clarified.”

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