Jockeys push for paid parental leave

Wednesday 13 November 2013, 2:41pm

The Australian Jockeys Association is en route to Canberra in a bid to ease restrictions that prevent female riders from accessing the paid parental leave scheme.

Racing safety regulations prohibit female jockeys from riding after their first trimester, making them ineligible for the scheme, as it requires women to have worked 10 of the preceding 13 months before having a baby.

The Australian Jockeys Association (AJA) will be pushing for an exemption for jockeys under the current paid parental leave scheme, as well as being included in any changes the coalition makes down the track.

Jockey Talia Rodder, who has a 10-month-old son, will lobby on behalf of her colleagues when she meets with Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews on Wednesday afternoon along with AJA chief executive Paul Innes.

"There are more and more women on the track and we should have the opportunity to access paid parental leave," Rodder said.

Innes said Australia's 200 female jockeys, who make up a quarter of all riders and nearly half of all apprentice jockeys, still face barriers to full equality.

"It's hard enough for female jockeys to balance work and family with the pressures of travel, early morning trackwork and strict racing weights," he said.

"They are facing discrimination on paid parental leave and this is a barrier that should be removed."

– AAP

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