A Sydney suburb has become the first municipality in Australia to give non-Christian workers unpaid leave to celebrate religious holidays and fulfil religious obligations.
The Waverley Council, covering an estimated 10,000 Jews as well as growing Buddhist and Muslim populations, introduced the plan because “many people who belong to religious minorities are constrained by a workplace environment that is incompatible with their spiritual needs.”
Norman Lee, the only Jewish elected official of the council, said the plan worked well in Canada and should be applied widely in Australia.
“In the past, people just said they were ill to get off days to fulfil their religious obligations,” he said.
Waverley Mayor Barbara Armitage said the council is following the precedent set by the national telephone company, Telecom, and the Commonwealth Public Service, in allowing Aborigines, or native Australians, 10 days of unpaid leave every two years to attend ceremonial occasions in the Northern Territory.
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