“It works really well for me to have that extra time off and to enjoy time with my children and to be able to take holidays as well as take breaks for myself.”
ACTU secretary Sally McManus is hopeful more companies will start introducing the extra five days off,which could help build a case to the Fair Work Commission for all employers to introduce the policy.
“There would need to be a demonstration that this is something that workers are wanting to take up,and we can see that that’s the case in the unionised areas,and so we’re going to continue to push it,” she said.
If the proposal were adopted,it would be 25 days off on top of 11 public holidays in NSW or 13 public holidays in Victoria.
It would follow countries such as France,Austria and Sweden,which require all employers to give workers a minimum of five weeks of leave.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s chief of policy and advocacy David Alexander warned against forcing this proposal on every business in Australia.
“It would be bad for productivity,bad for small business and bad for the economy,” he said.
“It doesn’t add up,we all do less work,we all get the same pay,the proposal doesn’t add up.”
Jeff Borland,an economist and a professor at the University of Melbourne,said the proposal was worth considering.
“Historically,there’s been these two ways in which workers have got their share of productivity growth. One way has been through being paid more,the other way has been through getting more leisure time,” he said.
“[Leave] is not a margin that we’ve adjusted on for 50 years now,but maybe it’s time to do that,especially in an environment where the sort of wage growth has been a bit lower.”
Last year,the Productivity Commission said labour productivity had increased more than 700 per cent since Federation.
Over the same period,the average Australian working week went from 46 hours to 33 hours,in line with legislated reductions in working hours and the creation of annual leave provisions.
“Employers will say[introducing five weeks leave] is a big cost on labour costs and the unions will say this is going to improve productivity,” Borland said.
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“Historically,giving people extra leisure time has been an important way in which workers have got the benefits.”
A spokesman for Employment Minister Tony Burke said the proposal for five weeks of leave was not Labor policy.
“The major changes we intend to make are already law and making a difference with more secure jobs and better pay,” he said.
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