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Changing Times News * Number 100 * 29 October 2008

Changing Times News is the TUC's fortnightly online bulletin on work-life balance issues. Visit the website at http://www.tuc.org.uk/changingtimes

Edited by Rory O'Neill of Hazards magazine. Comments to Jo Morris. To unsubscribe or subscribe to this bulletin, click here. Past issues are available

CONTENTS

Union news: Commute times starting to decline * We've started, but we've not finished * Job u-turn 'a victory for work-life balance' * Bank holiday needed to ease stresses * Extended hours broke man's heart * Scots councils oppose equal pay for women

Other news: Bosses seize on Mandelson's flexible work wobble * Family-friendly work plans must go ahead * Flexible working 'vital' in bad times * Flexible work needed for mental health * Free market 'fiction' on pay gap * Sexism at work 'just below the surface' * News in brief

Resources: Benefits of life-course policies * Online TUC course for equality reps

Events: Women at work conference, 3 December, London

International news: Australia: Report brings maternity leave closer * Europe: Qualified welcome for work-life moves * Global round-up

UNION NEWS

Commute times starting to decline

The number of people spending more than one hour per day commuting to work fell by 206,000 in 2007, according to TUC. The TUC analysis of official Labour Force Survey (LFS) figures - produced to coincide with Workwise UK's Commute Smart week, the last week in October - shows a fall of one per cent from 2006 in employees undertaking commuter journeys of longer than one hour. Two years ago 21.9 per cent (5,517,000 people) had a one hour plus commute. The latest figures show this has dropped to 20.9 per cent (5,311,000 people). The drop in commute times follows a campaign to promote smarter working by the WorkWise UK coalition, which includes the TUC, the CBI, Transport for London and other leading organisations. Smarter working includes working from home, flexitime schemes and other ways of escaping from the 9 to 5 rat race while still doing your job. Commuters working in London are still most likely to commute for more than one hour each day, but the percentage of long hours commuters in the capital fell sharply last year, with 7.2 per cent fewer (101,000 employees) undertaking long commutes. London, the South East and Eastern regions have the highest percentage of long journey commuters, whilst the North East and Wales have the lowest. In addition to London, the North East and Northern Ireland also saw sharp falls in long journeys last year, whilst the Midlands saw the smallest fall.

Work Wise UK news release and Commute Smart Week webpages. TUC news release.

We've started, but we've not finished

The fall in time spent commuting is welcome, but there's still work to do, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber has said. 'In the UK we work some of the longest hours in Europe, and on top of this we still have to commute an average of 54 minutes per day. This adds up to a very stressful working week for millions of workers across the UK,' Mr Barber said. 'The decline in long commutes, which predates the current difficulties with the economy, shows that smarter working has finally begun to bite. The fall in commute times is heartening, because it reverses a ten-year trend towards more long-hours work journeys, which culminated in a record number of people spending more than an hour commuting each day.' The TUC leader added, however, the 'statistics also show that one in five employees still spend more than an hour per day on their journey. It's vital that concerns about the economy do not deter employers from introducing flexible working, which could ease the strain for hard-pressed workers while delivering real benefits for business. And the government must do its bit by keeping their promise to extend the right to request flexible working to the parents of children aged up to 16. I hope all employers who receive flexibility requests consider them seriously and do all they can to make flexible working a reality.'

TUC news release.

Job u-turn 'a victory for work-life balance'

The Heathrow head chef sacked for going home to look after his children has won back his job. GMB member Virgilio Teixira spent a penniless two and a half months waiting for the verdict on his dismissal from Compass Catering but it was confirmed in mid-October he would be reinstated as the top chef at Arora International. Virgilio was fired from his £20,000-a-year job at Smith's Bar and Kitchen in August, after a colleague was two hours late for work. After waiting for the other chef for as long as possible, Virgilio was forced to leave the kitchen unsupervised so he could go home and take over babysitting from his wife Joana, who was due at her bar job in Terminal 5. Perry Phillips, branch secretary of GMB's Hounslow branch, represented Mr Teixira. He said: 'This is great news for Mr Teixira and a full demonstration of the need of workers to belong to GMB. The management realised that they have to take account of their employee's family commitments and the strain that can be caused by not having the proper procedures in place to help workers meet all their responsibility both at work and at home.' He added: 'This is a victory for natural justice, and this is a victory for work-life balance.'

GMB news release. Hounslow Chronicle. Worthing Today.

Bank holiday needed to ease stresses

As recession and work worries hit home, workers need a break - and a new bank holiday could be just the job. On 27 October - the halfway point of the longest gap between UK bank holidays - the TUC and the UK's leading voluntary organisations put their case for a new Community Day bank holiday. The coalition would like a late October break to bridge the four-month gap between the August and Christmas bank holidays, and to give parents a day off during half-term. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Announcing a new bank holiday would cheer up workers across the UK worried about the recession and their jobs. Community Day would recognise the importance of local communities in holding society together, and celebrate that there is more to life than consumption during these difficult economic times.' The earliest date Community Day could come into effect would be October 2010, by which time most commentators expect the economy to be on the road to recovery. TUC says it would give a boost to service and leisure sectors that are expected to be hit hard by the downturn. The union body estimates that one million businesses would benefit from a new bank holiday. Great Britain currently has eight bank holidays, compared to an EU average of 10.9 days. Only Romania has fewer bank holidays.

TUC news release. Community Day campaign. Why the UK can afford a Community Day [pdf].

Extended hours broke man's heart

A social worker who suffered a heart attack after enduring long working hours and work overload has received £175,000 in compensation. Unite member David Walker, 63, was employed as a team manager by Northumberland Care Trust between 1995 and November 2004. He worked on an under-staffed project for young people with disabilities. He frequently worked 12-hour days and most of the weekend but, even working those extended hours, he was unable to cope with the workload. Relentless pressure caused him severe stress and anxiety and he suffered a heart attack in November 2004. He recovered, but remained seriously depressed and was not able to return to work, taking early retirement at the age of 60. After court proceedings started in February 2006, the Northumberland NHS Care Trust admitted it had been negligent in exposing Mr Walker to stressful working conditions. However, it was not prepared to admit the heart attack and depression were caused by its negligence. The case was due to be heard at Newcastle County Court in September this year, but the proceedings were dropped when the NHS Trust came forward with compensation of £175,000. Mr Walker said: 'I and my family feel that this is a just settlement.' He added: 'Mentally, now I'm just coming out of it. It's taken away three-and-a-half years of my life.' Unite regional secretary Davey Hall said: 'I'm extremely pleased for Mr Walker. Now that the lengthy case has eventually been resolved, it gives Mr Walker, and indeed his family, peace of mind. Had the case been advanced by a private firm of solicitors, it would have cost Mr Walker thousands of pounds in costs. However, being a member of Unite, he incurred no legal costs and he has justly received full compensation.'

Beecham Peacock news release [pdf]. The Journal. More on work and heart attacks.

Scottish councils oppose equal pay for women

Scottish local authorities have paid at least £1.6 million of taxpayer's money to lawyers to oppose the thousands of equal pay cases against them, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) has revealed. Information obtained from local authorities by the STUC reveals that council taxpayers' money is already funding a substantial legal bill to block equal pay claims, with the claims that are progressing through the Employment Tribunal system still only at preliminary hearing stage. STUC's Mary Senior commented: 'The STUC has real concerns that the only winners in this equal pay conundrum are the corporate lawyers. The current situation is not helping the women whose jobs have been undervalued for decades, nor local council taxpayers.' She added: 'We are in danger of equal pay litigation spiralling out of control. Cases that are being heard are only in preliminary hearing, we are not yet discussing the real issues on equal value, bonus systems, and the merits of each case.' STUC wants the Scottish government 'to take action to sort out equal pay now,' she said. 'What we need is a serious commitment to equal pay, and the Scottish government is best placed to take this issue forward.'

STUC news release.

OTHER NEWS

Bosses seize on Mandelson's flexible work wobble

Plans to increase parents' rights to request flexible working are to be reconsidered, Downing Street has said. No.10 said business secretary Peter Mandelson was looking at 'all regulations due to come into force,' given the economic uncertainty. But the spokesperson said 'no decisions have been taken on any of this.' Concerns were raised on 20 October, when The Independent published details of what it described as internal government papers, showing the business secretary was reviewing plans to extend the right to flexitime from parents of children under six to all those with children up to 16. The flexible working scheme was due to be extended to 4.5m parents of children up to the age of 16 from next April. There was also a question mark over other proposals, including extending paid maternity leave from 39 to 52 weeks and creating an extra bank holiday. Employers' groups welcomed the review of extensions to flexible working and other family friendly plans. 'If the government is genuinely serious about helping small businesses during the tough times ahead it needs to take a hard look at all of its proposals in the employment field,' said Miles Templeman, director general the Institute of Directors. 'We are convinced that many of these would impose significant new burdens on enterprises and we urge the government to abandon them.' Katja Hall, CBI director of employment policy, said: 'We welcome the government's decision to look again at new employment rules such as extending the right to request flexible working. Business has accepted the extension as a long-term aim, but in the short-term it is not right to be putting extra burdens on businesses in the current economic climate. We need to be doing all we can to help them.'

IoD news release. CBI news release. The Independent. BBC News Online. Personnel Today.

Family-friendly work plans must go ahead

Unions, equality and parents' and children's advocacy groups have expressed dismay at indications the government may shelve plans for family-friendly employment reforms. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Postponing a simple right to request flexible working would not save a single job in the small business sector. If such a request harms the business, the owner can say no.' He added: 'This would be an astonishingly irrelevant response to the severe economic downturn that we face and, in addition, would run the risk of sending a message to working parents that the government is not on their side.' Sarah Jackson, chief executive of Working Families, said: 'If we are facing a recession, it is imperative that government finds ways to strengthen business and to support families. The government's own evidence has made the case over the past decade that flexible working delivers a powerful win for both.' Jackie Orme, chief executive of human resources professional body CIPD, said any delay would 'send out the wrong message.' She added: 'The reality is that flexible working can deliver competitive advantage by improving employee engagement and attracting talented people to organisations that otherwise might remain outside the workforce.'

TUC news release. CIPD news release. The Guardian and follow-up story.

Flexible working 'vital' in bad times

Flexible working is vital to a modern economy facing troubled times, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has said. EHRC chief executive Nicola Brewer said: 'Genuinely flexible working is part of the solution, not part of the problem. Flexibility provides business opportunities to deal with turbulent times.' Commenting on suggestions the government may shelve additional family-friendly measures, she said: 'The EHRC is disappointed to see the old-fashioned argument being made that flexibility has to be a burden, instead of a potential way to increase productivity in Britain. It need not be a business cost. It can be a business opportunity.' Justine Roberts, co-founder of Mumsnet, said: 'If the government is supposed to be on the side of hard-working families, then this is a funny way of showing it.' Duncan Fisher, director of Dad Info, said: 'In a recession parents will have to work longer hours to earn money for their families. This means flexible working is all the more important for child welfare in a recession.' Speaking on the publication of a new survey of mothers and fathers sponsored by the Commission that revealed high levels of demand for flexible working from parents, EHRC's Nicola Brewer said in tough times companies 'will be looking to make the most productive and flexible use of their workforce.' The EHRC-sponsored 'Homefront' survey conducted by Mumsnet and Dad Info found 83 per cent of dads and 86 per cent of mums said they would like some sort of flexible working. Seven out of ten parents (71 per cent of dads and 68 per cent of mums) said their family did not have the working arrangement they would prefer.

EHRC news release.

Flexible work needed for mental health

Work-life balance is essential for mental health and should be improved, government advisers have said. More than 450 experts assessed the potential challenges of the next 20 years that could impact on wellbeing. Professor Cary Cooper, chair of the Foresight group's expert panel and one of the authors of the report, said employees in the UK already worked longer hours than in other European countries and that workers might feel under even more pressure to 'put in the hours' given the unstable economic climate. 'We want more opportunities to request more flexible working arrangements,' the professor said. 'This is a business issue, it's not a soft issue. People who work flexibly can have more job satisfaction, be healthier and more productive.' Professor John Beddington, the government's chief scientific adviser and director of the Foresight programme, said: 'Acting now in a co-ordinated way is even more important as the pressures on our society change - this is particularly pertinent in the current climate. Competition from abroad and uncertain economic times will drive people to work harder and smarter. Both will result in increasing demands made on individuals and the state.' The report notes that new forms of flexible working could help employees meet the conflicting demands of intensification of work and the increased need for people to look after older relatives. John Denham, secretary of state for innovation, universities and skills, whose department sponsored the report, said: 'I welcome this report which provides new insights and creates fresh opportunities to offer support to individuals, families and organisations in building and sustaining mental capital and good mental health.' Drawing on over 100 expert papers, the report identifies three key areas which need to be tackled: learning in the early years; wellbeing at work; and the ageing population.

Foresight Mental Capital and Well-being webpages and report executive summary [pdf]. DIUS news release. BBC News Online.

Free market 'fiction' on the pay gap

The TUC has accused a free market think tank of 'creating a fiction from official statistics' to argue concerns about the gender pay gap are overblown. 'Should we mind the gap?', a report by the Institute of Economic Affairs, argues discrimination does not play an important role in the pay differences between men and women, concluding 'we should make far less of a song and dance about the gender pay gap'. It says women's part-time earnings were now higher than those of male part-timers, and that the UK's pay gap fared much better than many other countries. For men and women in their 20s, the median full-time pay gap was now less than 1 per cent, and men were found to have a greater chance than women of losing their jobs and suffering serious injury at work. The report author, Professor JR Shackleton, of the University of East London, commented: 'The widespread belief that the gender pay gap is a reflection of deep-rooted discrimination by employers is ill-informed and an unhelpful contribution to the debate.' He added: 'The pay gap is falling but is also a reflection of individuals' lifestyle preferences. Government can't regulate or legislate these away - and shouldn't try to.' TUC general secretary Brendan Barber responded: 'This report has created a fiction from government statistics and has obviously ignored the tens of thousands of women every year who come to their union for help, having been discriminated against by their employer at work.' He added: 'Progress on closing the pay gap has slowed to a snail's pace - falling by just 0.3 per cent last year. Decisive action - including more family-friendly working and mandatory pay transparency - is needed to end this injustice.'

IEA news release and full report. Personnel Today.

Sexism at work 'just below the surface'

Women's rights campaigners have warned that thinly veiled sexism is thriving in Britain's workplaces. Fawcett Society shark-themed posters emblazoned with the slogan, 'Sexism at work: it's just below the surface' are the centrepiece of its campaign to expose the problem. The society says despite nearly 40 years of anti-discrimination legislation in the UK, sexism lurks in some of the most common workplace scenarios, 'yet far too often it fails to be detected, identified or challenged.' It says during job interviews, 52 per cent of employers take into account the chances of a new member of staff becoming pregnant before employing them. The campaigners add that women working full-time earn on average 17 per cent less than men. Dr Katherine Rake, director of the Fawcett Society, said: 'While things may appear calm on the surface, UK workplaces are awash with sexism. Pregnancy discrimination, sexual objectification, and gender stereotyping all lurk just below the surface. For too long it has gone unidentified and unchallenged. It is time to start naming sexist cultures and practices at work for what they are. Sexism at work is not inevitable. Nor is it just women who pay the price; men, businesses, the economy and society as a whole all bear the cost.' She concluded: 'Sexism has no place in today's workplace. It is time to flush it out.'

Fawcett Society news release and Sexism at work campaign.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Happy families: The majority of mothers feel no guilt about leaving their children to go out to work and believe their working life has improved since having children. More than 90 per cent of full-time working mothers say they are a good role model for their children and more than half say they are happy to combine parenthood with a career, according to research by Mumsnet.com, the UK's biggest online parenting network. The Guardian. Mumsnet.com.

Caring challenge: Women are the main family care providers, but as women's economic opportunities increase they will not continue to bear the costs of providing care unaided, according to an academic report published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. It says to create a sustainable care system, care and carers must be better supported and more highly valued to involve more men in caring and reduce gender inequalities. JRF publication note. Reducing gender inequalities to create a sustainable care system, JRF Viewpoint, October 2008 [pdf].

Lone parents: Changes to take effect in November 2008 will mean those lone parents whose children are aged 12 and over will move off Income Support and onto Jobseeker's Allowance if they are capable of work; if they cannot work because they have a disability or health condition they will be moved onto Employment and Support Allowance. Either way, there will be increased pressure to move into work. DWP news release.

Easy meat: Unite has welcomed an Equality and Human Rights Commission announcement that its first ever inquiry will probe the UK's multi-billion pound meat industry for evidence of employment abuse and discrimination. Jack Dromey, deputy general secretary of Unite, said: 'Our national defender of human rights is sufficiently concerned about the practices of the meat industry that it is to subject it to the commission's first ever inquiry,' adding Unite is very concerned that the procurement practices and structure of the supply chain, with a heavy reliance on temporary, agency and migrant workers, encourages discriminatory and divisive treatment of workers. EHRC news release and official notice of the inquiry. Unite news release.

Agency workers: The TUC has welcomed a new law which will deliver equal treatment rights for agency workers after a 12-week qualifying period. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Now agency workers will now finally have a fair deal and be entitled to the same pay as permanent staff doing the same job, and receive much stronger legal protection from exploitation.' TUC news release. ETUC news release.

Pay dispute: GMB has said it is furious that Highland Council has broken a promise to compensate some of its lowest paid women staff this year as part of an equal pay settlement. The union says that despite the authority's pledge to the 2,500 cooks, carers and cleaners in an April newsletter, it has decided to withhold the payments until 2009. Press and Journal.

Council ceiling: UNISON is calling on local authorities to help women break the glass ceiling in local councils, after a new report published by The Centre for Women and Democracy revealed few women make it to the top in local government. The report also showed that without decisive action it would take women 100 years to get gender equality in local government leadership roles. UNISON news release. Leadership and gender in local government in England, Centre for Women and Democracy, executive summary.

FTSE dragging: Deputy minister for women Barbara Follett has called on FTSE companies to appoint more women to their boards. New figures show that only 12 per cent of FTSE board directors are female - and progress is so slow that at this rate it will be about 2050 before there are equal numbers of men and women on company boards. Government Equalities Office news release.

Poor things: More City workers are seeking help for mental health issues, as well as drug and alcohol addiction. The Capio Nightingale Hospital, located near London's banking district, says 'square mile syndrome' is afflicting City bankers and hedge fund managers, with a dramatic increase in the numbers seeking advice for anxiety, depression and stress. The Guardian. The Times.

Mental problems: The government says it is pushing new funds into its Access to Work scheme with the aim of helping people facing mental problems to say in work. Work and pensions secretary James Purnell said the funding increase would allow support to be made available for people with mental health conditions either already in work and experiencing difficulty, or those about to enter employment, as well as for their employers. DWP news release. Shifting responsibilities, sharing costs: The mental health challenge for welfare reform, Jessica Prendergrast, Beth Foley and Tom Richmond, SMF, October 2008.

RESOURCES

Benefits of life-course policies

A new report from the Dublin-based employment think tank Eurofound says for many European citizens, the traditional life course of finishing education, moving into employment, raising a family and - finally - retiring, no longer applies. 'Flexibility and security over the life course: Key findings and policy messages', lists key policy recommendations from the perspective of the individual, the company and the state and national systems 'and provides useful guidance for creating strategies that help citizens to synchronise and manage a variety of choices across their different life phases, while still participating in paid work.'

Eurofound publication notice. Flexibility and security over the life course: Key findings and policy messages [pdf].

Online TUC course for equality reps

TUC says union reps need to be able to keep up to date with equality legislation and handle issues such as flexible working, reasonable adjustments and discrimination - and that's why unions are building the role of equality reps. An online course starting in January 2009 will train equality reps in their new role and help them get to grips with the new and changing equality agenda. According to TUC: 'Equality reps can promote fairness in the workplace by raising the equality agenda among fellow workers and their own unions; by encouraging employers to make equality and diversity part of mainstream collective bargaining; by working with vulnerable workers and trying to ensure that every worker receives fair treatment.' The course takes approximately 30 hours, delivered over 10 weeks. This course is free for all recognised union reps from TUC member unions. The law on paid time off for trade union training applies equally to online courses.

TUC course briefing. Further information from Craig Hawkins, TUC online training officer, 020 7079 6947.

EVENTS

Women at work conference, 3 December, London

An Institute of Employment Rights (IER) conference in London on Wednesday 3 December will look at the challenge of securing a robust framework for implementing equality in the workplace. The conference will bring together academics, NGOs, trade unions and legal professionals. In addition to high profile speakers, the conference will focus on aspects of inequality in the workplace, with case studies providing real life examples of the problems currently facing women. The four key areas to be covered are: Women at work; EHRC, promoting flexibility and fairness; The Gender Equality Duty- are women at work catching up?; and the law and equal pay. IER says the seminar will be of interest to trade unionists, employment lawyers, equality officers, academics and students and those concerned with the development of public policy.

Further details and booking form. Women at work: 90 years since the Representation of the People Act 1918 - a conference, Wednesday, 3 December 2008, NUT, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9BD. IER subscribers and members £75. Trade unions £90. Commercial £220.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Australia: Report brings maternity leave closer

A Productivity Commission report has recommended 18 weeks' paid leave for Australia's working mothers and two weeks for fathers. The publicly funded scheme would be at the adult minimum wage of about $544 (about £214) a week, and would be expected to benefit about 140,000 mothers a year. Mothers would be able to share the paid leave with their partners, but only if they were deemed the primary carer. An extra two weeks of paid leave would be available to fathers or same-sex partners. Only those who have been in the workforce for at least 12 months would be eligible for the proposed scheme, which would cover the self-employed, contractors, and part-time and casual workers. Employers would be 'paymasters' of the scheme, initially making the payments and then being reimbursed by the government. ACTU president Sharan Burrow said is this is the scheme finally put in place, employers had got off lightly. 'They are only required to pay superannuation, not the top-up we were seeking,' she said. She added it was a terrific start in helping women recover from childbirth, bond with their babies and establish breastfeeding. A public consultation on the recommendations ends on 14 November. A final report is due next year. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has already indicated that businesses would not accept the recommendations. Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, however, signalled his support for the commission's proposals for a national parental leave scheme. Australia and the US remain the only OECD nations that do not have some form of compulsory paid parental leave. Some Australian companies offer some paid parental leave.

Productivity Commission news release and paid parental leave webpage. ACTU news release. The Age.

Europe: Qualified welcome for work-life moves

Work-life balance measures adopted by the European Commission on 1 October have been welcomed by trade unions - but they say they could and should have gone further. The package includes steps to improve maternity protection, including for self-employed women, and to promote childcare provisions. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) said it welcomed 'this package as timely and necessary. However, more concrete action on childcare, elder and dependent care is needed to better support workers and families.' ETUC said it was disappointed that there was no improvement in the safety protection for pregnant women and nursing mothers. 'Another key point for us would be measures to extend maternity protection to all workers in 'atypical' jobs, including domestic workers,' said Catelene Passchier, ETUC confederal secretary. She added that 'what is needed is a coherent and integrated policy approach, in which care provision and leave facilities are matched with a better organisation of work and working time and more flexibility for workers. This is one reason why we cannot accept the current pressure at national and EU level for longer working hours. The proposal to give workers returning from maternity leave the right to request changes to their working hours is a welcome one; in our view, however, this right should not be limited to young mothers but extended to all workers and without restricting it to people with specific care obligations.'

ETUC news release.

GLOBAL ROUND-UP

New vision: Despite increasing international attention to ageing societies and older persons, in many societies, older persons and especially older women, still face age discrimination in the workplace and lack access to rights, jobs and social security, the International Labour Office (ILO) has said. Jane Hodges, director of the ILO Bureau for Gender Equality, said: 'Women in old age are particularly vulnerable because they are often stuck in unpaid, low-paid or part-time and precarious work.' ILO news release and gender equality webpages. Rights, jobs and social security: New visions for older women and men - campaign resources page.

Call declined: Even before the impact of the economic crisis could be felt on India's US$11bn business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, which gets 70 per cent of all the outsourced work from the US, it was in the grip of a crisis of its own. Mark Kobayashi-Hillary, author of a new book, 'Who moved my job?', says the rapid growth in other sectors in India is making different industries attractive for young graduates, while the need for rapid 24/7 responses had driven a lot of companies to recruit on their own doorsteps. BBC News Online. Who moved my job?

Lunch broke: According to business and union groups in Australia, if the one-hour lunch break is not extinct, it's certainly endangered. Part of the reason, they say, is with increasing numbers of double-income families, workers are choosing to work through lunch and have time at the end of the day to pick up their children from school or crèche. The Age.

Newsletter (5,400 words) issued 29 Oct 2008