Dialogue: Union responded to needs

By CAROL BEAUMONT*

Using all your sick leave entitlement looking after sick children and having none left over when you are sick yourself is an issue often raised by retail workers.

Given the nature of the industry, with a majority of workers who are women, many of whom have primary responsibility for caring for dependent children or elderly parents, the need for arrangements to help to balance work and family responsibilities is critical.

The National Distribution Union has responded to the needs of retail workers by raising issues such as domestic leave as part of collective contract negotiations. At the Woolworths negotiations this year, the company took the bold step of agreeing to three days' separate leave for domestic leave purposes.

This is a first for the supermarket and gives workers paid time off to look after an ill spouse, partner, child, parent, parent-in-law or other dependent person after six months' continuous service. Unused sick leave can still be used for domestic leave.

The Woolworths supermarket contract covers all non-salaried employees in Woolworths, Price Chopper and Big Fresh supermarkets - some 10,000 people. Most of these employees are earning relatively low wages, so paid domestic leave is particularly important because they can't always afford to pay for satisfactory care for sick dependants.

Many supermarket workers, especially checkout operators, are also difficult to contact at work, adding to the stress they experience knowing that someone they care for is at home ill.

While the supermarket industry is very competitive and runs on tight margins, Woolworths was keen to address what it could see was a genuine problem faced by their employees.

Woolworths also led the industry in providing bereavement leave, which allows an employee to mourn for someone who is not a relative; two weeks' paid parental leave to both men and women; and an innovative student employee scheme.

The benefits of this scheme for students are that they gain continuous work experience with no loss of service-related benefits and a balance between school and work commitments.

They are also given examination leave, and if the company requires them to transfer to another location there is a clear understanding of what expenses will be met. These sorts of initiatives are increasingly important for a diverse modern workforce and will continue to be promoted by unions.

Employers who recognise that their employees have a range of responsibilities and needs are likely to benefit from a more productive workforce.

*Carol Beaumont is lead organiser for the Council of Trade Unions. She was previously a National Distribution Union advocate.