Well, it’s kind of progress. At least it’s being discussed. According to the ABC:
The Government should pay for 18 weeks of parental
leave for new mothers and two weeks for fathers at the minimum wage
rate, the Productivity Commission has recommended.The Commission’s interim report, Paid Parental Leave: Support for
Parents with Newborn Children, says the scheme should pay mothers at a
rate of $544 a week, at a cost to the Government of about $450 million
a year.However, mothers who are eligible for the scheme would not be
allowed to receive the $5,000 baby bonus and Family Tax Benefit B and
the weekly payment would also be taxed.
Even if you are a casual working or being paid less than the minimum wage, you’d still receive the $544 per week. But if you earn more than that, you only get $544. Which is better than the nothing you currently get but doesn’t help if your mortage or rent or living expenses are geared for a higher income.
Predictably and infuriatingly, employer groups are saying 18 weeks is too much. They would like 0 weeks.
Those in the scheme would receive a total of nearly $12,000 while those on the allowance would receive nearly $7,000.
The employer would pay the entitlement and would be reimbursed by
the Government but would also be required to pay the employee
superannuation which the Commission estimates will cost business around
$75 million a year.Australia is one of only two OECD countries that still does not have publicly funded maternity leave.
Speaking before the report’s release, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said
it was time the Government offered a scheme, but gave no commitment
there would be one in next year’s Budget.“The Australian economy of the future will have stay-at-home mums
who will be supported with the baby bonus but also mums in the paid
workforce who we will also be supporting with paid maternity leave,” he
said.“It’s time Australia bit the bullet on this.
“It’s going to be a challenge to make sure we get the exact policy
settings right because we are in the midst of serious global economic
challenges.”
Is it just me or does it sound suspiciously like Rudd is making excuses already for why this isn’t going to happen? The current global economic crisis should not impact on a government funded maternity scheme……what a cop-out.
If you want to read the actual report, you can find it here
Top Comments
Recently i was approached in the street by a petition weilding advocate for paid perterity/materity leave,asking for a signiture,at the time i was unwilling to sign.After giving the subject some consideration,the idea is fine,although i think it should be means tested in some form,this will also enlarge the resourse base,for those concerned.
I am 33yrs. old and a small business owner. It is a family business, my brother is my partner. I have been working for the family business for 12 years. I do feel that if the store can afford to pay me some maternity leave, that they should. I feel I deserve it after 12 years of working most weekends and holidays etc. It's retail.
My problem is that my brother has the "no fair" attitude. We all know small businesses are not required to "pay" maternity leave. It will be more work for my brother with me not there, but I feel that he should support me. I deserve credit in building the business to where it is today.
I think that he would like to buy me out and run the business on his own (he's a little bit of a control freak) but I do not want to make that decision until after I have my baby.
I like the idea of working part time. I think the store benefits having me there. The problem is that weekends and holidays are our busy time and my husband has a "normal" job. We both agree that once the baby comes we would like to have that time together as a family.
Not all business owners in my industry work weekends. People all the time say to my that I should just hire someone to work weekends. That is easier said than done. Not to mention if my brother is working weekends he definitely won't find that fair. That is why in the long run it may be in my best interest to sell to my brother to save our family relationship.
I am just wondering what others think of this situation. It's always more difficult when it's family. I would not expect to get pd. maternity leave if the business were really struggling. The economy is not doing very well but so far our business is surviving. Is 4-6 weeks pd. asking for too much?