Progress report on domestic violence provisions in Round 6 Enterprise Agreements

By Jeannie Rea (NTEU National Office). In July 2013 the NTEU Women’s Action Committee successfully recommended to the National Executive that they adopt the seven star checklist developed by the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse (and endorsed by the ACTU). The WAC called on Branches to seek at least four of the ‘stars’ in Enterprise Agreements – including extra paid leave.
The 7 ‘star’ principles are:

1. Dedicated additional paid leave for employees experiencing family or domestic violence;
2. Confidentiality of employee details must be assured and respected;
3. Workplace safety planning strategies to ensure protection of employees should be developed and clearly understood by the parties concerned;
4. The agreement should provide for referral of employees to appropriate domestic violence support services;
5. Provision of appropriate training and paid time off work for agreed roles for nominated contact persons (including union delegates or health and safety representatives if necessary);
6. Employees entitled to family and domestic violence leave should also be able to access flexible work arrangements where appropriate; and
7. Employees must be protected against adverse action or discrimination on the basis of their disclosure of, experience of, or perceive experience of, family and domestic violence. More...