Legal
Issue No. 8 - December/ 2002/january
Achieving Equality in Employment
by Michael Hegarty
The recent terrorist attacks in Bali have brought home to Australians that we are vulnerable. The march of globalisation has made it more and more difficult to avoid the world outside. Now we are forced by world events to confront what is going on.
We have grown accustomed to and at times appear to accept workplace injury and the road toll as normal risks of life. Now, however, we have had tragedy and violence forced upon us, not the sort of death and destruction with which we are familiar, but irrational violence, the causes of which we cannot comprehend.
Horrific though they are, we should not let these events dictate to us the way we think about those who are culturally different from ourselves. Australia is part of the world community, and (usually) a country governed by reason and law.
Is Australia’s reputation for tolerance and peaceful multiculturalism under threat?
A recent case concerned a nineteen year old Muslim employee, an information technology worker, who was threatened with dismissal for taking a prayer break. His religion required him to pray five times a day, and two of those prayer times fell within work hours. A prayer room had been provided by the employer. He took his afternoon prayer in his lunch break.
The dispute was resolved, with commentators making the point that many workers take more time off each day to smoke than Mr El Masri took to pray.
The case highlights the importance of examining procedures in the work place in order to eliminate discrimination in all its forms.
Regardless of a person’s gender, marital status, race, religion, sexual preference or other defining feature of that person, if it does not affect the person’s ability to do the job, it should not be a factor in determining their suitability for employment.
Discrimination legislation must be considered:
- at the recruitment stage
- during employment, in relation to the person’s...
