Workplace Division Has Gone Too Far

We are one? Seemingly not. Even though it’s in our national anthem. It’s the second line! “Australians all let us rejoice, For we are one and free”. We are one! It’s basically our national motto. “One People, One Destiny”. But yet, you wouldn’t be able to tell from all our recent politics. The Australian Indigenous Voice referendum, which is widely anticipated to be held on 14 October, intends to create a body that is only open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. To me, that certainly does not indicate that we are one.

One of my employers, a university, has been debating the details of our new workplace agreement for months now. It turns out that the university staff collectively rejected the most recent proposal, and I certainly understand why. This morning I was so peeved by the new agreement, that I sent out an email, which I will read to you here:

“Good morning,

I am a current employee at the University of [Australasia]. I know that our enterprise bargaining has been going on for quite a long time now. I'd just like to point out a few things that I simply cannot agree with. The university have proposed a number of entitlements that concern me. These include:

1. The introduction of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language allowance;
2. The introduction of gender affirmation leave; and
3. Increased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural and ceremonial leave.

I’m a big proponent of equality, but introducing entitlements that are only open to those who identify with a particular ethnicity / ancestry, and/or those who identify as a particular gender that require surgical intervention, I don’t believe this is fair. I have nothing against people of any ethnicity or gender, however, only allowing certain people to gain a “language allowance” is simply not fair to the rest of us who can speak a second, or third language, or those that wish to learn. I think either the language allowance should apply to all staff, or it shouldn’t apply at all.

The same problem with gender affirmation leave. Either every employee should have the ability to apply for special leave to affirm their identity, for example, people who are obese may wish to undergo bariatric surgery to lose weight or improve their health, or others may wish to undergo some kind of cosmetic surgery to improve their appearance, self-esteem and/or self-confidence. I’m not suggesting that the university should fund this, but either all employees should be entitled to special leave for this purpose, or none should. Only letting certain people apply is simply not fair, and certainly not bringing us closer to equality.

The same with “cultural and ceremonial leave”. Why are only one group of people entitled to this? Every person in this world has their own cultural practices. Either all employees should be allowed to take leave for this purpose, or none should.

Perhaps this email will fall on deaf ears. Perhaps nobody wants to hear this information. But that’s okay. I just needed somebody to know what many of us are feeling.

Thank you for your continual effort to better the lives of all employees.

Regards,
John Smith

They say we’re all equal in Australia. They say that we’re all one. But if the government is anything to go by. If these workplace agreements are anything to go by. They don’t want us to be one. They want us to be broken!

VOICE REFERENDUM DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED NEXT WEEK
https://nit.com.au/23-08-2023/7330/voice-referendum-date-to-be-announced-next-week

ANTHONY ALBANESE SET TO ANNOUNCE VOICE REFERENDUM DATE AS OCTOBER 14
https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/anthony-albanese-to-announce-voice-referendum-date-as-october-14/news-story/c2c6ca459082b3aed3116e5e2dc056d5

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