BOSSES have threatened to stop hiring women of "child-rearing age'', claiming pregnant workers cost too much.
The Federal Government will today announce an inquiry into workplace discrimination against pregnant women and new mothers returning from maternity leave.
The inquiry will probe union claims that some retailers are refusing to give pregnant workers extra toilet breaks, and have forced them to stay in unsafe jobs.
The Australian Industry Group yesterday warned that a new workplace law - expected to pass through the Senate next week - will discourage high-risk industries from hiring women.
The planned changes to the Fair Work Act will force employers to transfer all pregnant women to a "safe job'' for nine months, no matter how long they have worked for the company.
Pregnant workers who cannot be found "safe'' work will stay home on full pay if they have at least a year's service, or on unpaid leave if they have been employed less than 12 months.
"That is obviously a disincentive to the employment of women of child-bearing age in hazardous industries,'' the AI Group national director Stephen Smith said.
The head of the Australian Council of Trade Unions women's committee, Therese Bryant, accused a major retailer of refusing to give pregnant women extra toilet breaks.
"We had a case of a woman ur-inating in her pants at the cash register, and she was so humiliated and embarrassed,'' she said.
Ms Bryant said a major supermarket chain had refused to transfer a pregnant woman working in its bakery to lighter duties, despite letters from her doctor.
"She was having to push a trolley with 400kg of flour, and was on her hands and knees scrubbing,'' she said.
Ms Bryant said the woman was eventually transferred, but her baby was born prematurely with brain damage.
She refused to name either retailer, as both women feared for their jobs.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick yesterday warned employers it is illegal to discriminate against workers on the grounds of pregnancy, potential pregnancy or breastfeeding.
"Working while pregnant is a right, not a privilege,'' she said.
Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will announce the Australian Human Rights Commission inquiry into pregnancy discrimination in the workplace.
The Australian Industry Group told a recent Senate inquiry into the Fair Work legislation that the safe job provisions would "provide a significant disincentive for employers in hazardous industries to employ females of child-bearing age.''
And the Australian Mines and Metals Association claimed the new law would "make employers think twice before employing women''.
The Law Council of NSW warned the inquiry that "consideration should be given to the possible impact on female workers of a reproductive age competing in the job market.''
And the National Farmers Federation said male and female job candidates would "present a different potential cost to the prospective employer
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/bosses-claim-pregnancy-law-will-make-women-harder-to-hire/story-fni0dotq-1226667822080
