Is it true some unions in your country are pushing for menstrual leave?
Now, I am a female, but I have never suffered PMS, so I can’t speak to the pain and misery of that. But somehow it smacks of pandering. If you’re sick, you’re sick. You shouldn’t get extra time off just because you’re a woman. It’s kind of insulting, don’t you think? I mean, how many jokes have there been about why a woman can never be President?
Thoughts?
http://news.ninemsn.com/article.aspx?id=13383
Yes, it’s true that one union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), is pushing for 12 days a year menstrual leave for females working for Toyota.
I haven’t watched the news for a couple of days or read any articles other than the one I linked to so I don’t know the reaction of my fellow countrymen, but I did roll my eyes and think “PUH-lease” when I saw this story.
What’s the buzz down there? Are the female members of unions in favor of it? How about other women?
Ivylass, I can’t see it ever happening. It’s a typical union ambit claim. They ask for the world in the hope that they get at least some of their requests.
I’m a member of a union and I don’t support menstrual leave. Some women do suffer horrendous dysmenorrhoea but any time away from work should be taken out of normal sick leave, in my opinion.
That’s what I thought. It all sounds rather insulting to me. “Oh, it’s Sally’s time of the month. Better pull her off the production line and have her file papers. If she can concentrate enough to alphabetize, haw haw haw.”
I am not minimizing PMS, by any means. But you shouldn’t get extra sick days just because you have a vagina instead of a penis.
The Australian this morning was saying that 4 universities have given their female staff 12 days of menstrual leave a year. :rolleyes:
I think it’s insane too.
Yes, it’s ridiculous. Typical of this country today though.
Two letters on the subject published in this morning’s (Saturday’s) Sydney Morning Herald:
The bleeding obvious
Look at where the logic of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union claim for “menstrual leave” takes you (“Oh what a feeling … it’s worth a day off”, Herald, February 11).
If a company is better off giving women time off than having them on the production line suffering nausea, unable to concentrate, slowing down production and reducing everyone’s productivity, then it would be better off still if it didn’t employ women at all.
And if women can’t concentrate and they make poor decisions at that time of the month, maybe they are unsuitable for jobs such as being judges and business executives and aeroplane pilots - where concentrating and making decisions are important.
Hey now, don’t get me wrong, I’m just following someone else’s argument to its logical conclusion.
Gordon Drennan, Burton (SA), February 11.
Nice to see that women suffering from premenstrual tension may get 12 extra days’ leave. Will their husbands be able to claim compassionate leave?
David Howard, Killara, February 11.
And if you’re going to accept this principle, shouldn’t it be 13 days’ additional leave per annum?
Why do people keep saying it’s about PMS? The claim is for menstrual leave for women who suffer severe dysmenorrhoea.
I still disagree with it but let’s at least keep to the facts.
I’m an Aussie, and I’ll just go on record as saying it’s ridiculous.
Sorry for the confusion. I was calling it PMS for simplicity’s sake. But if a woman suffers so much from painful periods shouldn’t she be consulting a doctor? Painful periods are not the norm, correct?
At least it would help with scheduling. “Oh, it’s the 12th? Well, I guess Susan won’t be in today.” :rolleyes:
How is it going over at the universities?
You’re not the only one referring to PMS. Men are making jokes in their droves about batty women blah blah blah. I’m fortunate in that I’ve never suffered from PMS but I have had dysmenorrhoea which as rivalled early labour for pain.
I don’t know about the Universities. I think it’s a daft idea. We get enough sick leave, in the main, without having designated ‘Menstrual Days’ as well.
Because I used to spend a day with my head down the toilet, I kind of agree with a tangeant of this. But of course, that doesn’t happen to a lot of women. Trying to kill a fly with a mallet. Silly idea.
Wow - I hadn’t even heard of this claim by the unions, I assume because it’s not being taken seriously. What a stupid thing to ask for - if an individual woman has periods so debilitating that she has to have the day off, it’d be great if she could make some sort of arrangment with her boss, but it’s hardly necessary to bring it in as a standard condition for all women.
I used to work with a woman who had to take at least one day off every month for several years after her second child. Her doctor suggested treatments that she didn’t particularly want to try so she put up with her messy, painful periods and used up whatever leave was available at the time. Menopause fixed her up the natural way.
Personally I would have had no objection to her getting extra leave to cover her particular circumstances. Unless they are planning to give it to her by taking it from me.