Page 3615 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 24 November 2021
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proposed new enterprise agreements for ACT public sector workers are the same as those now offered in New South Wales. In addition to these compassionate leave entitlements, employees will continue to be able to access unpaid, special birth leave until they are fit to return to work.
Pregnancy loss through miscarriage can be a significantly traumatic event—we all know that—and the government supports the validation of early pregnancy loss as bereavement. The government acknowledges the stigma that has often been felt by those who experience miscarriage and I think the examples and the stories that Mrs Jones gave in her speech speak to the uncertainty and fear, and even sometimes the shame, that women can feel in these circumstances and how alone they can be if they are not actively supported through both policy and practice in the workplace.
We hope that the provision of clear leave entitlements allows ACT government employees to not only take the time that they need to grieve their loss but also sends a very clear message that their experience of grief is valid and is acknowledged by their employer.
Of course, the same stigma experienced by those who experience miscarriage can be also often associated with stillbirth, and it is such a significant change over the last few years that we have started speaking publicly about both miscarriage and stillbirth. I think I have been surprised, as many others have been, to understand just how frequently this does occur because people speak about it so little.
There are, of course, existing entitlements available to ACT public sector employees to access birth leave following a pregnancy that ends after 20 weeks gestation, including a pregnancy that ends in stillbirth. This means that an employee whose pregnancy ends in stillbirth can access 18 weeks of paid birth leave. Additionally, under the existing agreement, employees who experience pregnancy loss after 20 weeks gestation can access compassionate leave. However, this has not previously been specifically stated within the enterprise agreements.
The new enterprise agreements remove ambiguity about this entitlement by referring specifically to stillbirth within the compassionate leave provisions. In other words, the death of a member of an employee’s immediate household will include a child that is stillborn, which is logical when you think about it. This also means that the partner or another member of the household who is an employee can access compassionate leave under these provisions. These entitlements have been extensively negotiated with public sector employees and represent a genuine strengthening of leave entitlements for those who experience pregnancy loss.
Ms Lee’s motion, as originally drafted, called for five days of leave following stillbirth but the current entitlement for birth parents is 18 weeks leave. I am sure that there was no intention at all to change that or to reduce that. The motion that has been moved today by Mrs Jones makes clear the options that are available to grieving families, and it is a testament to the efforts and attention of our public sector workers and their unions that these strong entitlements already apply across the entire ACT public service.
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