Maternity leave: issue of who pays

April 24 2002 Sydney Morning Herald

Apart from those who protest that motherhood is a consumer choice undeserving of financial assistance, few object to the principle that private sector working mothers be paid for maternity leave, as they are in the public sector. By and large, Australia has moved beyond that debate to questions of how such an entitlement should be funded and what is a reasonable paid absence from work.

Pru Goward, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, says private sector women are being treated unequally by being denied paid maternity leave, and that she might mount a legal challenge under the Sex Discrimination Act. Australia and the United States are behind the rest of the Western world by not having national schemes. Ms Goward's options paper, arguing 12 weeks' leave would cost $300 million, comes ahead of an ACTU test case seeking a minimum standard of 14 weeks' paid leave, with employers bearing the full cost in line with International Labour Organisation standards.

The Goward paper, however, offers several options, ranging from government funding to employer funding, with permutations in between, including joint responsibility and a pool financed by an employers' levy.

If the Government thinks a national paid maternity leave scheme is "a very good idea" - as the Prime Minister, John Howard, said last year - it must ensure universality, adequate benefit and a funding model that protects vulnerable employers and taxpayers' interests. The workplace is not homogeneous and its component parts do not have equal capacity to make such payments. Should the corner milk bar proprietor be expected to pay an employee's maternity leave with the same ease as a major corporation? And some industries, such as mining, are less dependent on women workers than, say, retailing.

The lukewarm response of the Minister for the Status of Women, Amanda Vanstone, to the idea of a national scheme suggests she has little appreciation of the financial burden placed on working mothers when they need to spend time with newborn babies. She hinted the maternity allowance and $500 baby bonus might be sufficient help.