http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11763018
Police attended 105,000 family violence incidents last year. On average, they take a call for help every five minutes – about 279 each day.
Domestic violence is estimated to cost the country between $4.1 billion and $7b each year.
Logie’s bill has the backing of unions, with Council of Trade Unions secretary Sam Huggard saying many union-negotiated collective agreements already have leave provisions.
The PSA said it pushed for 10 days of domestic violence leave during contract negotiations in early November, but the ministry rejected them.
“All employers should offer 10 days’ special leave to employees who are experiencing family violence,” said PSA national organiser Kathy Higgins.
“We were able to persuade the ministry to broaden their existing policy to allow members to take special leave in the case of family violence without having to use annual leave first.
“This is an improvement, but we are disappointed the ministry was not prepared to include anything substantial in the new collective agreements.”