The National Council of Women reiterates its position that there is no case for postponing parental leave that has now been extended by four weeks, even in the case of businesses with 10 workers or less. The European Social partners, including BusinessEurope and ETUC have reached an agreement on the relevant directive and therefore Maltese employers should honour this agreement

Postponing leave entitlement is often abused and in some cases completely lost. Besides, the timing of parental life is crucial when mothers have just given birth, as it is in the interest of the child for both parents to stay longer with their child at a time when the family needs it most. Moreover, if fathers are not making use of the non-transferable number of weeks parental leave, it is again the child that loses out.

Solutions need to be found, including among others the long awaited temping agencies that can provide the necessary personnel to take up the temporary work to reduce the problems of sustainability of SMEs. ETC needs to put in practice the support scheme that aims to pay workers who take up the extra weeks of work while parents are on parental leave. There is the need for government intervention to support employers as is being done to save jobs during these crucial months of the recession.

This directive ties up with the health and safety directive for the extension of maternity leave from 14 to at least 18 weeks (according to WHO it should be 24 weeks) which again aims to provide for the health of both the mother and the child.

Employers too have a social responsibility to address the demographic deficit with the average Maltese family having not more than 1.7 children. NCW deplores unjustified reasons not to employ women that are linked with maternity and parental leave entitlement.

Grace Attard

NCW President