Oceania Paid Maternity Leave

Here is my issue for today.

Personally, I find the whole concept to be unfair, and worst of all, politically correct garbage.

Who is expected to pay? The employer? How many businesses would that destroy? And if the employer fires the mother, then they have to go through the whole anti-discrimination processes. And if they did pay them while on leave, that would mean either a pay decrease for other employees or even sacking other employees, just for the sake of one person. Where I work, one of the female employees left to go on maternity leave, and I know for a fact that if the boss was forced to pay her, while at the same time paying someone else, it would basically give him a negative profit.

An other option is to have the taxpayers fork it out. That is unfair too. Some people don't have great jobs, and don't get paid a lot, but they would be the ones paying mothers, while they sit at home with the kid, while hard working tax payers are working their asses off just to feed their families.

Thoughts?

 

My thoughts?

I'm thinking there sould be a Current Affairs thread developed so we can filter out some of these topics.

On the subject itself, I don't think an employer should be made to pay for someone that isn't working. If you can organise something with your employer when you're negotiating your terms with them, then all the best to you. But no way should any organisation be forced into paternity/maternity leave on any account.

 

employers know they are hiring women and women can fall pregnant, so if they want to avoid it don't they need to get their employers to sign a contract about it? and if they won't sign, hire someone who will.

 

There is paid sick leave. I don't have a problem with paid maternity leave, within certain bounds though. If the mother is returning to her job only shortly after the birth, I think that's fair. However, if she is taking months and months off, that's another story. I know someone who has three weeks paid maternity leave. I think that's a fair compromise, otherwise employers would definitely think twice about hiring women.

 

yeah, why shouldn't it be like sick leave? why not make it apart of sick leave? being a girl myself, but not that i have any kids, i think alot more thought needs to go into this sort of thing. and talking about fair, to men get paid the same amount for paternity leave as women for maternity leave?

Jaina

 

It will make women less employable.

 

It will make women less employable.

That was my initial reaction as well.

 

I love the idea that having a child is something that can be done during a break from work.

I love the idea that having a child is something that happens for a few months and then you can go back to work as usual.

I love the idea that paid maternity leave is a sex discrimination issue. How long have men been getting it? Will men be getting it? I doubt it. So there it is - it IS sex discrimination.

I love the idea that it might be partially funded by taxpayers. I thought we were just sponsoring children in third world countries?

I guess everyone needs a hobby.

 

That was really very clever.

I'm not sure any of us know enough about it to go making sweeping statements, but I wonder if there is a way to become more informed on such matters? i think that as a whole more information - factual information, not the rubbish the government trys to feed us - needs to be accessable by the voting public. It's our say in the end, or at least it should be.

Jaina

 

My wife got 3 months full paid mat leave when our daughter was born last year, and 9 months unpaid. It's the same where I work.

There needs to be standard set down in all awards I believe, but not to the point where it'll be to the detriment of small businesses that have only just managed to survive the introduction of GST. Some of them have got it hard enough as it is. It's not a simple black and white issue.

 

I don't know if you should tie to it sick pay but why not make it like long service leave? You should not be able to collect before a certain amount of time, and the amount/time in direct relationship to time served.

Actually I don't believe in it at all - having children is a choice and if you choose to have them when you can't afford then then you shouldn't be having them - there are enough kiddies living in poverty. Same as those stoopid parent's parks at the supermarket. Don't even get me started on those.

But I also think it is inevitable.

 

Same as those stoopid parent's parks at the supermarket.

I'm assuming you don't have children, because you'd sure appreciate those car parks if you did.

 

And why not set up taxpayer funded daycare at the supermarket?


Okay. I'm just kidding. I have a sickness. I am always compelled to play devil's advocate in any conversation. Just to make life more interesting.

 

f that. having kids is a choice. Being handicapped is not. leave 'em at home.

 

The more I see how this world works I feel like becoming a bounty hunter.

 

follow your dream. cock a tiel

 

Unfortunately the job has too many "Imperial Entanglments" as Alec Guiness so eloquently put it.

 

Can you assassinate Simon Crean for me please or Natasha? She is very annoying!

 

Sorry Marvin, not my thing, I cannot harm anyone or violate laws.

 

Okay, I'll ask you again near election time, and I might even tempt you with some $

 

No deal, under any circumstances.

 

What does a bounty hunter do, if they don't kill people then?!?!?!?!

 

They have a chat with the person over some Camomile Tea and then go listen to Carrie Fisher sing.

 

Force them to watch Jar Jar's part in TPM

 

there is a lucrative bounty to be collected an aluminium cans, or so I've heard...