Leave plans will not boost female workforce: ACI

By SAIRA MUELLER
THE Government’s paid parental leave scheme and the Opposition’s paid maternity leave scheme will not lead to an increase of women in the workforce because they already receive adequate leave entitlements, according to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In the lead up to the Federal Election both the Government and the Opposition have proposed paid leave schemes to help working families with young children.

The ALP has announced 18 weeks’ minimum wage to be paid for by taxpayers. The Coalition is putting a 1.7 per cent tax on big businesses to fund their six-month paid maternity leave scheme.

Industry officials and businesses are unhappy with the Coalition’s plan to fund their scheme through taxes on larger businesses and say that substantial parental leave is already provided for by employers.

The chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Peter Anderson, says that up to two years of maternity leave is already guaranteed by law.

“I think that we’ve seen an increase with women’s participation in the workforce…,” he said.

“That in part has been because Australia provides some strong supporting infrastructure for women to participate in the workforce.

We provide as employer’s very substantial maternity and paternity leave entitlements… one year of maternity leave is guaranteed by law. In some cases that can be taken out to two years of maternity leave.”

However, the Coalition says that it is hard for parents to return to the workforce under the current entitlements.

ACT Liberal MLA Vicki Dunne says that six months paid maternity leave will help women get back into the workforce after having children.

“I think that you would see an increase of women in the workforce and an increase of women remaining attached to the workforce,” she said.

“As things currently stand, the short time that people have for maternity leave, if they have any at all, tends to discourage people from continuing in the workforce, they feel that they have to resign.”

However, Mr Anderson says that paying parents to stay at home and look after their children is not something that encourages people to return to the workforce.

“It’s usually financial reasons and a desire to continue a career, and the capacity to access childcare that do that,” he said.

The ALP says that paid parental leave is not about businesses, but about working families.

ACT Labor Senator Kate Lundy says that a new paid parental leave scheme will help low income working families.

“I like to think that having a paid parental leave scheme will mean that women and their families will have a much stronger option not to return to work immediately,” she said.

“Particularly for lower income families, taking leave will become an affordable reality for them. I think that’s empowering.”