Unions Tasmania is calling on political leaders to commit to a set of reforms to support gender equality in Tasmanian workplaces ahead of the State Election.
After thousands of women rallied in Hobart on the 15th of March as part of the national March 4 Justice movement, Tasmanian women are still waiting for concrete action, said Unions Tasmania Secretary, Jessica Munday.
The Morrison Government recently released its response to the Sex Discrimination Commissioners Respect@Work Report which outlined 55 recommendations for policy and legislative reform. Unfortunately, they failed to take up some of the most important recommendations to make changes to work health and safety laws and create a positive duty to prevent sexual harassment by employers, said Ms Munday.
There is now an opportunity for the State Government to step in where the Federal Government has failed.
In his 2021 State of the State address, Premier Gutwein said to the women of Tasmania:
I see you, I hear you. This Government, the Parliament see you and it hears you, and while action has already been taken, we know there is more to be done, and we will not shirk our responsibilities to ensure that everyone is safe, everyone is respected, and everyone is supported.
We welcome this strong commitment to gender equality from the Premier and we invite him to follow up his words with action, said Ms Munday.
Tasmanian unions are calling on political parties and candidates to commit to four priority reforms in Government.
- Make the necessary changes to the Work Health and Safety Act (Tas) 2012 to provide for a Regulation on psychological health hazards and additional guidance on sexual harassment;
- Legislate for a Gender Equality Act and Commissioner;
- Fund a Working Womens Centre within Unions Tasmania to provide targeted advice to vulnerable workers who experience sexual harassment;
- Lobby the Federal Government to make the necessary changes to the Federal Fair Work and Sex Discrimination Acts to put a positive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment.
For further information: Jessica Munday 0417 454 809
Media Release - Unions outline gender equality election asks 210421.pdf
