Despite promises by federal and state governments to help pay for childcare, the National Association for Women in Construction (NAWIC) says there is still much more to be done to ensure women can return to the workforce.
The organization welcomes a $ 5.8 billion investment in universal kindergarten by the NSW government and says it goes a long way in providing support to women and families with children under six.
“The cost advantage of putting a child through childcare over going to work has been an obstacle for women to get back into the workforce,” said NAWIC National Chair Christina Yiakkoupis.
“This is a wonderful initiative for NSW and we would like to see the other states follow their example in the coming years.”
Anthony Albanese’s election promises to extend the aftercare subsidy as well as to amend legislation to include the payment of Superannuation on parental leave were also welcomed by NAWIC. The Association has created a number of recommendations for universal child care and amendment of legislation to enable the transferability of parental and caregiver’s leave rights.
“We recommend that the government consider innovative policies and programs that address parental leave in transitional industries with inflexible working hours such as construction, recognizing employees’ service to the industry, enabling them to bank / transfer parental leave rights similar to those of QLeave. , which provides a fair and efficient system of transferability of long leave of absence in the building and construction industry, ”says Yiakkoupis.
NAWIC believes the reforms are crucial to help support women’s participation in a number of sectors, with Australia currently listed as 31/41 in childcare affordability.
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