Unions Back More Paid Parental Leave

Extending paid parental leave to one year would be a major benefit to women workers, particularly those on low incomes who needed to take time off to care for children, Council of Trade Unions vice-president Helen Kelly said today.Prime Minister Helen Clark said in her speech to Parliament that the Government was looking at British moves to increase paid parental leave to one year.

"Many women struggle to balance care of their families with the need to earn a living to support those family members," Helen Kelly said. "Extending paid parental leave allows them to better balance those pressures."

Unions also welcomed moves to improve out of school care, flexible working hours and work-life balance, as well as pay equity.

"While Don Brash is sacking women in his caucus, we are pleased the Government is looking at how to encourage women into decent jobs."

While unions welcomed moves to support women in the workforce they were also concerned about the need for fair wages to attract women into paid work.

The speech also set out a positive future for workers in lifting labour productivity, investing in skills and encouraging superannuation savings.

"While most unions would find much to agree with in the speech, they also have difficulty with Labour's plans for a free trade agreement with China and funding models for tertiary education," Helen Kelly said.