Lake Imaging attacks Parental Leave

Management at Lake Imaging Geelong has moved to strip long service leave and paid parental leave entitlements from workers.

The move comes as a shock to workers currently renegotiating their Enterprise Agreement.

Management claims that the governmental Paid Parental Leave program is sufficient for workers and that paid parental leave provides few benefits to employers.

This short-term logic does not however stand up to scrutiny. Indeed, the Productivity Commission clearly argues that the benefits to employers are significant.

…besides the obvious benefits to society, [paid prenatal leave] ma[kes] economic sense for businesses … it helps companies to attract & retain talent, improves staff retention & reduces turnover, protects investments in training & development and raises productivity

 Unsurprisingly members have rejected the proposal and have indicated their commitment to this basic provision.

The VHPA remains optimistic and believes that these negotiations will see both parties achieve positive outcomes.