Page 958 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 17 June 1992
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One recent initiative in the first of these areas has been a pilot program for mature aged women which offered traineeships in the ACT Government Service. This four-month program has just been completed and is currently being evaluated. Assistance for women on low incomes to participate in TAFE vocational courses has been a further element of the Government's effort to increase women's access to the work force, as has the tradeswomen on the move program, which now has a full-time coordinator.
The needs of women in small business have been a particular focus of the Government. The informative breakfast seminars for women in small businesses are going from strength to strength, with assistance from the ACT Chamber of Commerce and Ernst and Young. In addition, further links with women in small business are being supported by the development of a register of women in business in the ACT by the business and professional women's organisation.
I have said many times that child-care has the capacity both to improve the lives of individuals and families and to add to the potential of the economy as a whole. My Government is strongly committed to the rights of parents, especially women, to achieve their full potential in the work force. I believe that child-care is equally a social justice issue, a status of women issue, and an employment and productivity issue. In line with this, work is proceeding on two child-care centres for use by ACT Government employees. In addition, government employees have recently been surveyed to assess the need for further child-care facilities. The results of this survey, which I expect to receive shortly, will help guide the implementation of the Government's commitment to provide further employer supported child-care during the life of this Assembly. Our child-care initiatives are being closely watched by other States and, indeed, the Commonwealth itself. Of course, a bonus of this move will be to free up child-care places in community centres and so enhance the ability of women to compete for employment opportunities in the private sector also.
Many people, women in particular, wish to combine workplace participation with their family responsibilities. I believe that the ACT Government Service should take the lead in this area. Work is under way to develop innovative ways to support our workers with family responsibilities. Options such as more flexible leave arrangements and revision of flexitime schemes will be examined. This examination will, of course, be consistent with efficient management practices and effective service delivery. As a first step in this process we will shortly be seeking the views of the public on the problems facing women in the work force who have family responsibilities. Submissions from interested parties will provide the basis for a discussion paper which will canvass such options.
A real commitment has also been made by the Government to implement an equal employment opportunity policy in the Government Service. This policy aims to ensure that all officers have equal employment opportunities and that program managers are responsible and accountable for EEO legislation recently introduced. Most important to the implementation of the EEO policy has been the establishment of an EEO unit in my department.
In addition, the Government intends to legislate to provide for the extension of parental leave to ACT employees who are not currently eligible for such leave under industrial awards or agreements. This will be at the standard established by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in the parental leave test case.
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