EU to vote on increasing paid maternity leave

Published: Tuesday, October 19, 2010

By Ann Cahill Europe Correspondent

A PLAN to give women longer maternity leave on full pay is being fought by businesses in the EU.

Women's groups are arguing the extra cost would be offset by more women returning to work after having babies -- and would help increase the population.

But business and some governments, led by Britain and Germany and supported by Ireland, argue that it would cost too much and would militate against women of child-bearing age being employed at all. The issue has split politicians in the European Parliament ahead of today's vote and the outcome is far from clear.

The proposal would give mothers 20 weeks' leave on full pay and fathers two weeks off on full pay.

Irish mothers currently are entitled to between €225 and €270 a week from the state for 26 weeks, depending on earnings.

Public sector employees and some workers in the private sector have their pay topped up so they receive their full salary during this time. All are entitled to take a further 16 weeks unpaid, while both fathers and mothers can share another 14 weeks off, also unpaid, in the form of parental leave.

Labour MEP Nessa Childers appealed to all Irish MEPs to vote for the change, pointing out that families in Ireland get little state-supported childcare, as is common in Nordic and many other countries.

"That the current emphasis on parental leave in Ireland lies exclusively with women, with men entitled to almost no time off, shows just how backward the current equality laws in Ireland continue to be," she said.

Germany and Poland have some of the shortest maternity leave at 14 weeks, while in Sweden mothers can have up to 96 weeks. The Germans argue that extending it would cost their businesses €1.3 billion a year, while the Dutch say extending it from 16 to 20 weeks would cost their economy €500m.

In Britain it is claimed that increasing fully paid leave to 20 weeks would cost the state an estimated extra €1.3bn a year.

But the European Women's Lobby says 20 weeks fully paid and some paternal leave would be a better option. They say the financial burden on employers of the current year's leave has led to high levels of discrimination against women in Britain and a record gender pay gap of 21.4%.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Wed, October 20, 2010