Australia: New Incentive for Abuse Scream Queens
Work Win for Victims of Domestic Violence
Jim O’Rourke
August 29, 2010
Victims of domestic violence will get an extra 20 days of paid leave a year as part of a historic clause in an enterprise agreement.
In a first for Australian workplaces, the Public Service Association of NSW has been negotiating with the University of NSW to allow its workers to take special leave to attend court, counselling or a doctor.
The union has also written to Premier Kristina Keneally, urging her to include the domestic violence provisions in the award that covers many of the state’s 300,000 public servants.
The clause will also ensure bosses cannot sack or suspend an employee if their attendance or work performance suffers because of domestic violence. Human resources staff will receive training in domestic violence issues.
Workers will also be able to request safety measures at work, such as changing telephone numbers and asking for transfers, to protect them from violent partners.
In Victoria, the Australian Services Union has tabled a similar clause as part of enterprise agreement talks with the Surf Coast Shire Council near Geelong.
The NSW PSA’s women’s industrial officer, Anne Kennelly, said the university had agreed to the clause, but negotiations continued about the wording.
The Australian Domestic & Family Violence Clearinghouse, which helped the PSA develop the clause, said the university would be the first Australian workplace to implement the protections.
Clearinghouse project officer Ludo McFerran said recent US research showed that at any time, 10 per cent of women were experiencing, or had recently experienced, domestic violence.
In 2004, NSW police recorded 68,984 incidents of assault, 37.3 per cent of which were domestic assaults.
Ms McFerran said the clause could improve the workplace productivity of a domestic violence victim.
”This is not just a sub-clause in a workplace agreement but designed to create a workplace where women feel safe to disclose issues with domestic violence,” she said.
”It encourages women to think, ‘I’m not going to get the sack’ for revealing violence in the home.”
A university spokeswoman confirmed it had agreed, in principle, to the clause and it would involve general and academic staff. She said the university recognised the need to be flexible on employee welfare.
At a speech during a forum to launch the initiative, federal Minister for the Status of Women Tanya Plibersek said women suffered in the workplace as they ”struggle to put on a brave face”.
”By remaining connected to the workplace, a woman has a much better chance of retaining her independence after a perpetrator has been removed from the family home,” Ms Plibersek said.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said employers would be happy with the support measures in the clause but questioned the need for the extra leave, especially in small private businesses.
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/work-win-for-victims-of-domestic-violence-20100828-13wv3.html
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Stumble It!
>> â€ÂIt encourages women to think, ‘I’m not going to get the sack’ for revealing violence in the home.â€Â
What? Has the University of NSW and other government employers been giving women “the sack” for being victims of domestic violence? If so then the proper response would be to fire those in the chain of command responsible for giving victims the sack.
>> “…women suffered in the workplace as they ‘struggle to put on a brave face’â€Â.
Poor, fragile little women. When are they going to quit talking about adult women as if they were feeble little children instead of competent adults equal to men?
>> “…Ludo McFerran said recent US research showed that at any time, 10 per cent of women were experiencing, or had recently experienced, domestic violence.”
Bull sh*t. Recent U.S. research has shown that women are more likely than men to initiate domestic violence (look it up on the CDC’s website).