Queensland Unions Launch Campaign for Reproductive Leave
The Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) has launched a campaign to obtain leave and flexibility entitlements for workers experiencing reproductive health issues.
The QCU’s It’s For Every Body campaign calls for 10 days of paid non-cumulative reproductive health leave per year for all employees other than casual employees. Reproductive leave would be available where an employee has a reproductive health reason and:
- the employee is unfit for work because of the reproductive health reason affecting them; or
- the employee needs to do something to deal with the reproductive health reason including a preventative healthcare measure and it is impractical to do that thing outside the employee’s work hours.
The campaign defines ‘reproductive health reasons’ as including:
- a condition or illness, whether temporary or permanent, related to reproductive health, including pregnancy, fertility, endometriosis, the menopause, dysmenorrhea; and
- any other experience of pain or discomfort relating to menstruation.
A ‘preventative reproductive healthcare measure’ includes:
- monitoring for healthcare issues related to prostate or for cervical or breast screening;
- surgery or other treatment relating to reproductive organs.
In announcing the campaign, the QCU stated:
Reproductive health can impact all workers; it affects everybody, at every stage of their working life including menstruation, managing chronic conditions such as endometriosis, managing fertility related issues, breast and prostate screening, and issues related to perimenopause and menopause. This list is not exhaustive; these issues can be complex and unique. It is an indication of the nature of health issues that reproductive leave is intended to cover.
https://itsforeverybody.au/