Kaizenlog

Maternity leave
(The Malta Independent 01/10/07) by Ian Meli

The editorial Implementing proposals (TMID, 27 September) is
unfair.

To the contrary of what the editorial said, Alternattiva
Demokratika’s proposal of extending maternity leave to 26
weeks has already been calculated and presented to the Prime
Minister. It accompanies other proposals made in the pre-budget
stage. The complete document can be viewed publicly on
Alternattiva Demokratika’s website.

The proposal is the only concrete measure recommended by any of
the parties which will enhance women’s opportunities to
re-integrate quickly in the world of employment.

The employers will bear no financial burden. In actual fact it is
much easier to find a replacement for a definite period of six
months than a replacement for only three months. Having a longer
period of leave available to women means that they will be able
to accompany their babies in their most critical moments, the
first months after birth.

In addition, having a maternity leave of 26 weeks means that we
will be closing down on the EU average which is still superior to
that.

A quick look at what the other countries offer to their citizens
show that Sweden offers by far the most leave, at 96 weeks.
Denmark, Italy, Finland and the UK also have generous provision,
where women are entitled to up to 50, 47, 44 and 40 weeks’
leave respectively. In contrast, Belgium is low, at 15 weeks
(still higher than Malta which provides for only 13 paid weeks).

In Eastern Europe, the most generous maternity leave allowance is
in the Czech Republic (28 weeks), followed by Poland (26 weeks)
and Hungary (24 weeks). Russia has the least, at 20 weeks.

It is unfair to treat women as if Malta is a third world country.
No wonder Malta has the lowest employment participation rate
among women.

Ian Meli

Zabbar

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