Christina Phillips is an administrator for the Fonterra Cooperative Group in Tirau, New Zealand, and is on the Women’s Committee and National Executive of the Dairy Workers’ Union (NZDWU). Here she talks about the rights to parental leave for both women and men that they have won.

“Women in our country are legally entitled to up to 14 weeks’ leave with 80% of their earnings paid by the State when a baby is due, either by birth or adoption. There is also unpaid leave of up to two weeks available to a partner at the time of birth or adoption. Plus there are other forms of leave to assist pregnancy or to help care for a new child.

On top of this, the DWU has negotiated additional entitlements with certain employers. In our collective agreement at Fonterra, for example, the primary care-giver can get 14 weeks’ leave at full pay, and their partner is entitled to 2 weeks’ leave at full pay at the time of birth.

It is important to make sure workers have the right information about parental leave. So the union has produced a two-sided laminated sheet which is distributed to all site delegates, both men and women. It sets out what the law contains, and then explains how to apply for the leave, what you can expect from your employer and how to seek union help if necessary. It gives the delegates confidence that they can supply accurate information to their members”.

The Parental Leave Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NZDWU and Fonterra is at: asianfoodworker.net/maternity/NZDWU-parental-leave.pdf

‘Get a Life!’
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) campaign on work-life balance, including quality flexible working hours for all workers:
www.union.org.nz/campaigns/getalife.html

‘It’s About Time’, campaign guide:
www.union.org.nz/files/about_time.pdf

On women’s committees and representation:

“There is a problem, though, when women’s committees are functioning properly, benefits are won, and unions are delivering for their members. Women’s lives are so busy with work and family that, in a long list of things to do, the union gets dropped off the bottom. It is a problem we have not yet resolved. But it is a better problem than many others have!”

“Although we have a lot of women in senior roles in unions in NZ, we still don’t have proportional representation of women at all levels in union structures.”

Interviewed by Celia Mather, Bali, 11 October 2006