Charter of Indigenous Employment Rights
19 May, 2008 | Policy
There are a range of issues which impact on Indigenous peoples’ access to employment. These include low levels of education and training, proximity to employment and industry and the need to create workplaces which recognise and respect the rights of Indigenous people to operate within a cultural framework.
The campaign for Indigenous employment rights – especially rights to equal pay for equal work – continues today, with the campaign for the return of Stolen Wages. In 2006 the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs conducted an inquiry in to the issue of Indigenous Stolen Wages and reported that it had "received compelling evidence that governments systematically withheld and mismanaged Indigenous wages and entitlements over decades".
With this in mind, the ACTU Indigenous Committee has developed this Charter of Indigenous Employment Rights. We recognise that in Australia, at least, discussions on issues such as Human Rights have been pushed to the background, with debates being further characterised by value-laden terms such as integration. Further, we recognise that many organisations, both nationally and internationally, have undertaken processes which have kept the rights dialogue alive.
We acknowledge this work and seek to enhance it with this Charter and hope that, through this Charter, we can engage Indigenous peoples in a conversation around what their rights at work mean to them.
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