Page 1752 - Week 06 - Thursday, 30 July 2020
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expansion. We certainly look forward to the results and, all else being equal, to continuing that discussion in the next term of the Assembly.
To conclude, I reiterate my thanks to Ms Cody for recognising hairdressing employees and for giving us the opportunity to discuss long service leave again in the Assembly. The scheme is consistent with our values that recognise and respect the needs and rights of ACT workers and value the opportunity for people to have time out through the course of a long working life. We are pleased to support the motion today.
MS ORR (Yerrabi—Minister for Community Services and Facilities, Minister for Disability, Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety and Minister for Government Services and Procurement) (2.55): I thank Ms Cody for moving this important motion today, drawing the Assembly’s attention to the ACT’s portable long service leave scheme. The ACT government is proud to have introduced portable long service leave for Canberra workers. It is another example of how, under this government, the ACT leads the nation on strong workplace relations reforms.
Australia ranks highly against most of the wellbeing measures described in the OECD’s better life index. Out of 40 participating countries, Australia has the highest civic engagement and is above average in areas such as income and wealth, housing, jobs and earnings, education and skills, subjective wellbeing, and security. Disappointingly, there is one measure against which Australia performs very poorly. It ranks 31st out of 40 participating countries in the area of work-life balance. This is primarily because 13 per cent of employed Australians work 50 or more hours per week, compared to the OECD average of 11 per cent.
Australians are working longer hours than ever before. Excessive work hours are not conducive to good physical or mental health. Overwork puts pressure on families, social interactions and rest. Australians’ working lives are also getting longer. Growing numbers of workers are remaining in the workforce at older ages. Commonwealth policy has supported and, in fact, encouraged this trend through superannuation, tax and age pension eligibility policies.
This trend of spending more time at work means that it is more important than ever before for employees to have a sustained period of recovery and renewal from work during their working life. Long service leave is one mechanism that facilitates this. However, this trend is on a collision course with another major trend in the labour force—mobility. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports high levels of workforce mobility, with almost one in five workers employed by their current employer for less than one year. This has led to a lower prevalence of long-term employment relationships, with around three in four workers staying with their employer for less than 10 years.
Long service leave forms part of the national employment standards. As of January 2010, the standards have applied to all employees covered by the national workplace relations system, regardless of the industrial instrument or contract of employment. However, even with these positive acknowledgements of the importance of long service leave, one historic relic has largely remained—the concept of tying eligibility to service with just one employer.
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