No parental leave extension puts paid to PN’s family policy – PL

The Labour party has slammed a decision by the Maltese government not to vote in favour of extending the minimum maternity leave from 14 to 20 weeks on full pay, at a European Council meeting of 17 June.

Labour MP Justyne Caruana said parliamentary secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Chris Said voted against the extension. A majority of EU member states ditched proposals to extend the minimum maternity leave to 20 weeks.

“Lawrence Gonzi’s government could not care less for families and womens’ health or family values,” Caruana said. “This vote is a clear manifestation of the government’s hypocrisy on the family, and its boasts of wanting to encourage more women to enter the labour market.”

Caruana said the positive effects of an increase in maternity leave for Malta are proven in a report by Labour MEP Edward Scicluna.

The parliamentary secretary for public information said Labour was wrong on the government’s position on maternity leave.

“No vote was taken in the European Council on parental leave. Malta has spoken in favour of extending maternity leave from 14 to 20 weeks as long as there is a level-playing field across the entire EU,” parliamentary secretary Chris Said said in a statement. “In that way our country would not suffer from unfair competition.”

In the European Council meeting of 17 June, Malta submitted that it is introducing more family-friendly initiatives to strengthen parental leave.

“However the EU must be considerate of member states’ cultures, practices and their realities… in many EU states mothers on leave are not paid for the entire period, while in Malta mums on parental leave are paid for 14 weeks. That’s why the government feels the balance between the duration of the leave and the level of compensation should be determined at a national level,” Said said.

Said added that between 2005 and 2010, public sector employees had increased by 250% to 3,287 who make use of family-friendly measures for childcare and tax rebates.