Submitting the research to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission today, ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:

"Australia is ranked very low in terms of the employment rates for mothers with young children. This is a key indicator of work and family balance that shows we are lagging behind most European nations and the US. Leaving aside former Eastern bloc nations:

• Australia is ranked thirteenth out of fourteen OECD nations.
• In Australia, less than half the mothers with children under six years old are in work (45%) while the top six countries have work rates above 60%.
• Denmark is the best performing nation with almost three quarters of young mothers in work (74.3%).

Today is an important milestone in the ACTU Test Case with the submission of the main body of our evidence. It includes statements from 32 witnesses and over 2,000 pages of research and testimony.

The Work and Family Test Case is an historic opportunity to bring our workplaces into line with the needs of Australian families in the twenty-first century.

There are a few far-sighted employers willing to implement more family-friendly policies but achieving a culture change requires fundamental reform of industrial awards.

The key workplace reforms being sought by the ACTU case are:

• The option to work part-time after the birth of a child.
• Flexible working hours, school-friendly holiday times and more workplace choice.
• An option to take up to two years unpaid parental leave.
• A new entitlement of 5 days paid leave to care for a child or relative.
• Access to unpaid family emergency leave for all employees, including casuals.

Test Case submissions by employer groups and governments are due in mid May and the AIRC is scheduled to hear the case from 30 August 2004."

Copies of the ACTU submission are available on request. All material will be available from the ACTU website next week.