What did time with your new baby mean to you?

English: Histogram of countries by weeks paid maternity leave provided by law (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Have you or your partner had a baby? Were you able to access any paid time off work to spend time with your child in those important first weeks and months?

Working people and unions fought hard for the right to take time off work when you have a child. We won our first universal Paid Parental Leave scheme in 2011 and Paid Dad and Partner pay in 2012. We are proud of these achievements and the difference they make in working families' lives. But improvements are still needed.

Tell us your story and experiences by filling out this short online survey about paid parental leave.

The Federal Government is currently conducting a Review of the Paid Parental Leave Scheme and we want you to get involved.

We will use your stories in a submission to the Federal Government’s Review. The union movement will be talking about the importance of spending time and caring for new babies and telling the Government where the scheme needs improvement.

For many households the reduction in wages they experience on the Paid Parental Leave Scheme is a barrier to taking the leave. We want to see this addressed. We also know that women retire with much less super than men. We want to see this addressed by having superannuation paid during Paid Parental Leave. And we want the time that parents can have spend with their new child increased.

So we can include your thoughts, please take the time to complete the survey or send us an email.

More information on the Paid Parental Leave scheme and the Review can be found at www.facsia.gov.au/pplreview .

I hope you can join us in improving the lives of working families.

Thanks,

Emma Maiden
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Unions NSW