On May 28, Fairfax Media in Australia agreed to extend superannuation to employees on parental leave. The decision came after several years of bargaining agreement negotiations with the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA). The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and MEAA welcome the decision, a huge win for Fairfax employees. 

In a statement MEAA said: “This terrific win has not come out of thin air. MEAA members and Fairfax Media house committee delegates have worked hard during rounds of bargaining, and then in the “off-season” between agreements through the union-established Gender and Diversity working group, to keep this important issue on the company’s priority list. MEAA members have pursued not only this important issue, but have kept the pressure on management to do the right thing by their employees – in particular their female workforce – in all areas, including closing the pay and opportunity gap, creating a more balanced approach to parental leave and now to do their part to correct the appalling gap between the retirement savings of female and male workers.”

MEAA said this is a first for a major commercial media organisation

The IFJ said: “We congratulate MEAA and its members on this initiative and the win that this agreement signifies for the media in Australia. We call on other media organisations in Australia to follow suit and adopt the initiative to ensure that starting a family does not leave anyone disadvantaged when the time comes to access retirement savings.”

For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +61 2 9333 0946 

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 140 countries

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