Three-quarters of working women are suffering from painful periods, according to a continuing survey conducted by Maurice Blackburn that it is seeking to open up to a broader audience, as it prepares to use the data to lobby for reproductive leave and flexible work arrangements.
The WGEA says the gender pay gap has fallen to its lowest point ever at 13.3%, but the ACTU says women "face the biggest fall in real wages in history" and "have little to celebrate".
New NTEU national secretary Damien Cahill says the union is seeking to replicate recent flagship deals but is disappointed some universities are offering agreements directly to staff, while the head of the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association suggests more non-union deals might be on the way.
FWC Deputy President Bernadette O'Neill will oversee the new system of expert panels for pay equity and the care and community sector, the tribunal's acting president announced today.
Unions have welcomed recommendations in a government-commissioned review of safety regulations addressing s-xual assault and harassment in WA's mining industry, but have expressed dismay at evidence that employers are deliberately failing to report incidents to regulators.
The Human Rights Commission's latest survey of workplace sexual harassment shows little change in incidence over the past four years, while only two-thirds of workers reported their employer had anti-harassment policies and just one third had received training, Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins told the National Press Club yesterday in a speech that also marked the first anniversary of her "Set the Standard" report on federal parliamentary workplaces.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has highlighted the positive duty imposed on employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation under its Respect@Work legislation, which passed Parliament this afternoon.
The Albanese Government had dropped contentious "cost neutrality" provisions from its Respect@Work Bill and will refer the matter to the Attorney-General's Department, which will conduct a review.