WORK/LIFE BALANCE INQUIRY

1 August 2007

SA Unions will deliver a strong message to the state government about the importance of delivering on its commitment to a better work/life balance for South Australian workers.

SA Unions Secretary Janet Giles and PSA representative Gail Peake will present evidence to Grace Portolesi's Parliamentary Inquiry into Work/Life Balance (10.30 am, Balcony Room, Parliament House).

It will detail the social impact of the federal government's IR laws and how workers are working harder and have less family time.

It will include case studies compiled by UniSA's Centre for Work and Life, and the hundreds of responses to SA Unions' recent survey on the federal WorkChoice laws, showing the harsh reality for SA families.

SA Unions Secretary Janet Giles says:

"The evidence is clear - the balance between work and family life is shifting in the wrong direction under the federal laws.  We face social fractures, as workers push themselves every harder to try to make ends meet, and families have less and less quality time together."

"Mothers, fathers, and children are flat out trying to keep their heads above water.  The precarious nature of employment coupled with longer working hours and uncertainty around shift work means families are finding it tough trying to coordinate time together."

"The State Government has led the way in acknowledging this crisis by including work/life balance targets in the state strategic plan.  We applaud their commitment to set firm targets.  However, targets are meaningless without strategies to actually achieve them."

"We call on the state government to turn targets into reality.  That means standing up for our state and our quality of life, by putting in place local strategies to insulate our families from the federal government's destructive laws."

"One way forward would be laws protecting family rights - such as amending the Equal Opportunity Act to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of family responsibility", Ms Giles says.