News
Helping hand for working women
Extensions to paid parental leave passed by Parliament will further assist working women to achieve quality working lives, the Council of Trade Unions has announced
An amendment bill to extend paid parental leave coverage to self-employed workers passed into law last month with cross party support. The Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act extends paid parental leave to a range of self-employed people such as farming families. "New Zealand has only recently become compliant with an International Labour Organisation maternity leave convention, for a minimum of 14 weeks paid parental leave, which came into effect for New Zealand workers on 1st December last year," said Carol Beaumont, Council of Trade Unions Secretary. "There is still a long way to go in improving New Zealand's parental leave provisions.
"The vast majority of workers still face a drop in income when they take parental leave, and the CTU will continue to push for an increase in the payment rates." Beaumont continues "The CTU supports a legislative right to breastfeeding breaks and facilities for new mothers upon returning to work, and this is another improvement we will be pushing for."
To be eligible for paid parental leave, self-employed mothers will have been working an average of 10 hours a week or more for either six or 12 months before the expected date of birth.
06 February 2007