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It would make much more sense to fold them all into a more robust personal leave category .
In transition
USyd considers introducing gender transition leave .
By Wade Zaglas
University of Sydney staff could receive six weeks off annually for gender transition leave if its academic union can get the case across the line .
The new entitlement would mean that university staff seeking gender transition or affirmation leave could be entitled to 30 paid days off each year for psychological therapy , surgical and hormonal procedures , and psychological therapy .
Such staff would also be given time to attend “ documentation amendment appointments ”, Times Higher Education ( THE ) reported .
As well as this provision , the Sydney branch of the National Tertiary Education Union ( NTEU ) has included a “ string ” of new entitlements ready for drafting into a log of claims . These include :
• Paid leave for reproductive health services and six days of menstrual or menopausal leave .
• “ Trade union leave ” for industrial relations training would be increased from six to 10 days .
• Domestic violence leave – already available to permanent and fixed-term staff – would be extended to casual employees . NTEU branch president Patrick Brownlee told THE the gender transition leave claim was with members with “ lived experience ” of the experience .
“ We hope this is something the university will support as we address an important health equity issue ,” he said .
A spokeswoman for the university said the log of claims were yet to be received , but the university was committed to working through a “ balanced , fair and responsible ” agreement .
The spokeswoman added that the new agreement “ couldn ’ t come at a better time ”, as the higher education sector continues to be plagued by “ long-term structural and funding issues ” compounded by the pandemic .
Gender transition leave is slowly becoming more common in Australia , with some of Australia ’ s most trusted and successful corporations and businesses already on the front foot . The ABC , for example , offers up to 10 days a year for gender transition leave ( which is arguably short for such a complicated process ), while Westpac bank grants a “ one-off allowance of four weeks ’ paid leave plus 11 months unpaid ”.
Under current arrangements , most Australian universities , including Sydney , provide all staff access to their personal or special leave to undergo gender transitions , THE reported . However , The University of Tasmania provides 10 additional days of paid leave for gender transition , planning “ to formalise it as a stand-alone category in its next staff agreement ”.
But not everyone is a fan of the flow-on effects such provisions may cause .
The executive director of the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association , Stuart Andrews , told THE he was aware of gender transition leave claims at roughly six universities . He said that , while most were specifying 20 days a year , some claims for provisions go “ way beyond community norms ”, frustrating universities and sometimes eventuating in protracted negotiations .
Sydney University currently provides nine types of paid leave , excluding allowances for vacations , childbirth , long service leave and court attendance , THE reported .
And while Sydney sociologist Salvatore Babones said most leave entitlements were rarely used , he has argued that the “ proliferation of special purpose categories ” can create an unfair system , where some employees have “ access to comfort in difficult times ” and others don ’ t .
“ It would make much more sense to fold them all into a more robust personal leave category ,” he said .
“ Unanticipated or even unimagined emergencies that affect people very deeply would still be covered , but on an equitable basis .”
Babones called gender transition “ one of life ’ s challenges ”, before listing a range of other issues that affect all our lives such as mental illness , domestic violence , homelessness , bereavement and so on . “ We all deal with serious problems , and enumerating them in an enterprise bargaining agreement is poor social policy . We shouldn ’ t be creating special categories of protected persons .” ■
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