Female workers ask for paid menstrual leave

smh.com ^ | 2/10/05 | staff

[pissant]

Female workers at carmaker Toyota could soon benefit from 12 days paid menstrual leave each year.

The claim is one of 600 improvements being sought by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) from the company.

Others include employer-provided childcare, 10 per cent annual pay rises for three years and superannuation payments of 15 per cent by 2007.

The union's Vehicle Division has started negotiations with the car manufacturer over a new enterprise bargaining agreement to replace the document that expires later this year.

The agreement would cover about 4000 people of which 10 to 12 per cent were women.

"We're at the working party stage at the moment," said AMWU Vehicle Division federal secretary Ian Jones, who is also chairman of the Federation of Vehicle Industry Unions.

Mr Jones said the thinking behind the menstrual leave provision was "obvious".

"It's the same as why we have maternity leave and parental leave, these are all matters that deal with your working life and issues that you can't ignore," he said.

Advertisement Advertisement"We believe that people should be given that time off to accommodate the circumstances that they find themselves in."

The menstrual leave would be in addition to sick leave.

"A lot of women have terribly bad periods and they are genuinely ill and we simply say that has to be recognised."

It was the first time the AMWU had tried to win menstrual leave provisions, he said.

"Every negotiation we do provides us with pointers to pursue elsewhere, but only where it's relevant, I mean we wouldn't be pursuing menstrual leave in a foundry."

While most of Toyota's workers would not benefit from the extra leave days "unless men can grow a womb", only women who were genuinely ill because of their periods would be entitled to the leave, Mr Jones said.

Comment was being sought from Toyota Australia.

[Andyman]

OK, as long as men can retire earlier seeing as how we die sooner.

[SheLion]

Oh! I thought only smokers cost the company for sick leave. heh!

[sure_fine]

paid leave?


wouldn't that be blood money?

[silent_jonny]

I think that this "menstrual leave" issue is crap

Now I'm really confused.

[meyer]

Whoops - I didn't read the whole thing. This is in Austrailia. I guess that they don't value their industry in the land down-under either.

[mountaineer]

If they're going to start paying workers not to work because they're OTR, and offering automatic payraises regardless of the quality of the work, I'd say we'd better buy our Toyotas now - because the price will double - or start looking at other makes.

[pissant]

Now you're thinking. Put chocolate and a cardboard cutout of a man on the factory floor. The ladies can chow down on the candy and nag a man while working.

[rockabyebaby]

Birth control pills solve most menstrual problems - advil, mydol or tylenol solve the rest.

[JoeSixPack1]

First Islamic terrorist complain about fake blood, then it's banned from the workplace!
Now, crapping will be done on weekends only!

Free butt plugs to all new hires.

Now back to work! GGGRRRRR!!!!

[Gabz]

Good grief.........now I've heard everything........

[MaryFromMichigan]

Take a pill, suck it up, and deal with it.

Just ewwwww.....

[cjshapi]

I hear you. If this is not satire these people need their heads examined. I'd be freakin ashamed to take a day off for that reason.

[najida]

A. I think it is silly to have menstrual days.

B. There are those women who have conditions (like endometriosis) where their periods are so bad, they are bed-ridden. The "treatment" is hormones or worse, surgery. Been there, done that, have tremendous sympathy.

C. Just give everyone (men too) a few extra sick days to cover it.

[pissant]

"its one of the priviledges of being male that you DON'T have monthly cycles......"
______________________________________

I would argue that women's PMS is much harder on the men than the women. The stress of restraining a quick backhand is killing us. ;o}

[thinking]

Women today are becoming damn whining babies.


Becomimg; you say?

[GOP_1900AD]

There could be hidden upsides to it though .... ;)

[contemplator]

Maternity leave has a Paternity leave counterpart.

[ArmstedFragg]

only women who were genuinely ill because of their periods would be entitled to the leave,

Imagine the mortality rate among the ranks of those who have to make THAT determination...

[traderrob6]

I want 12 days paid (IPL).....IPL =irritated prostate leave

[JoeV1]

This is crap. Sick leaves covers this. What is wrong with these union's? No wonder they are dwindling every year.

Nissan in America has had it's workers vote down union representation since they opened their first plant here in the early 1980's. I believe Honda and Toyota are also not organized but I'm not positive about that. How can workers not understand that all costs are passed along to the consumer ultimately and impact on the price of the product being manufactured. It's simple, the higher the price of the product relative to the competition (adjusting for quality differences) the lower the number of sales and the less the need for as many workers. IN the end overly aggressive unions only cost jobs as happened in Canada when Walmart simply closed down a store rather then be held up by the masked men of the union.