This week we celebrated International Women’s Day and the launch of Women’s Rights At Work (WRAW) Fest 2023.
Our new Public Sector Enterprise Agreement includes paid superannuation on unpaid parental leave, improved paid parental leave entitlements, strengthened clauses on flexible work arrangements, and more opportunities for career progression.
These are significant improvements on past conditions.
While these are great improvements, we know there is still a lot of work to do to close the gender pay gap, address gender equity and gendered violence in workplaces.
Women still retire with 40% less superannuation, that women are consistently refused flexible work arrangement requests but are still expected to be primary caregivers.
One in six women are subject to family violence.
Earlier this week we emailed members about International Women’s Day.
The response was overwhelming.
Members shared with us their frustrations trying to request flexible working arrangements.
You let us know you’re angry trying to navigate rotating rosters, night shifts and being on call while ensuring your households continue to run smoothly or ensuring someone is available to assist elderly parents and grandparents.
The work you do is essential but that doesn’t mean that it can’t accommodate flexibility when it is needed.
Increasing rostering stability for all workers, should be a priority to improve work/life balance. If this situation doesn’t improve, the health system risks losing good people.
To address these issues, we are calling on members to join our Women’s Committee. Please contact Lyzz if you’re passionate about these issues and want to make a difference.
In the meantime, we want to remind members about WRAW Fest 2023.
WRAW Fest is an annual event that offers women opportunities to organise with women from across the union movement and beyond.
From discussions on psychosocial hazards at work to ending non-disclosure agreements, there are a lot of great events on during WRAW Fest over the next fortnight. We’ve listed the events that are on at WRAW Fest in this week’s edition of STAT Report in Campaign Corner.
We encourage anyone who attended the International Women’s Day march or is attending WRAW Fest events to share their pictures with us or tag us on social media so we can amplify your messages.
Watch these great International Women’s Day messages:
