Maternity leave extension may be abandoned

Extra maternity paternity leave (extra time off for young mothers and fathers) / IPTC CopyrightEuropean Union 2012

Current EU legislation gives new mothers the right to take at least 14 weeks of maternity leave

The European Parliament voted a text in 2010 to extend maternity leave in the EU from 14 to 20 weeks. But since then the Council has blocked the proposal. If no progress is made by June, the European Commission could withdraw the current proposal and replace it by a new initiative.

According to the Belgian Socialist Marie Arena, who is the European Parliament’s negotiator on the issue, the EU member states should assume their responsibility on this matter.

At the same in Spain people debated about the fathers’ role, as the country’s government also proposed to extend paternity leave to a maximum of four weeks, two weeks more than the current allowance.

[Note by the editor: You can listen to the summary podcasts of this audio article in Spanish and English at the bottom of this page.]

Current EU legislation, in place since 1992, gives new mothers the right to take at least 14 weeks of maternity leave. In 2008, the European Commission proposed to extend this period to 18 weeks. And two years later, the European Parliament went even further by voting for a 20-week maternity leave.

But since then, nothing has changed – member states still haven’t taken a position on the issue.

Following his pledge to cut red tape, European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans recently announced that the draft directive on maternity leave could be withdrawn if no compromise is reached by June.

Socialist MEP Marie Arena, who is handling the maternity leave file in the European Parliament, says that if this happens any progress on possible extensions could take another decade. (audio in French)

“From 1992 to 2008, nothing happened. In 2008, there was a will from the Commission and the Parliament to review the directive, but the Council hasn’t want to hear about it. And if the Council doesn’t take a position right now, before June, then it would be postponed to 2025,” Arena said. “Because the directive would be thrown away (by the Commission), then we would need to wait for a new proposal from the Commission, then this one should be again debated by the Parliament. And only afterwards will it go through the Council. So, it can take us again between 5 and 10 years.”

Spanish voices about paternity leave

Within the EU, some member states already provide more than the 14 compulsory weeks guaranteed by European law. In Spain, for example, obligatory maternity leave lasts for 16 weeks.

In 2014, the Spanish government also proposed to extend paternity leave to a maximum of four weeks, two weeks more than the current allowance.

But today, just over 1 percent of Spanish fathers make use of this right.

Euranet Plus member Castilla y León Radio spoke to some people on the streets of Valladolid. (audio in Spanish)

The first female interviewee was in favour of men taking more paternity leave: “It’s a good idea at least to promote a real equality between men and women, but it shouldn’t be only on paper.” The second woman noted the men’s predicament: “I understand that with the current situation [unemployment and crisis], fathers don’t take their paternity leave by fear, because they are afraid to be fired.”

The men were theoretically in favour of more equality between the sexes, as suggested by the first male interviewee: “The father, the mother; it doesn’t matter, I think both should have same rights. What do you say? Only this could be given to the mother?” Another woman seconded that: “I agree, if we as women have time to be with our babies, they should have the same right. In my opinion it’s OK for both to have the same rights.”

This claim was buttressed by the last female interviewee, who demanded more men to take paternity leave: “For the dad, who only has two weeks, it should be extended a bit, maybe a month or a month and a half.”

In Spain obligatory maternity leave lasts for 16 weeks

Nuria González, secretary for Spain’s General Union of Workers, UGT, supports equality between men and women in parental leave rights. (audio in Spanish)

“We always tend to equate these type of rights, being exercised by the father as by the mother. Subjectively speaking, in this case the enjoyment has not been forever required or delegated to the mother, but the father can also exercise that right,” González said.

MEP Arena has also proposed adding a right to paternity leave in the draft directive, following Sweden’s example.

In the Swedish model, the mother can decide to give part of her maternity leave to the father. (audio in French)

“For example, in Sweden, a mother who has just given birth can decide to give her maternity leave to the father after two weeks of recovery time. And this works well, because many fathers assume this right of maternity leave instead of the mother. Why not? Therefore, we would like that there is a subsidiarity principle, which means that the member state allow this possibility of transferability between the mother and the father.”

According to Arena, the European Commission has never officially set an exact deadline for reaching a deal on extending maternity leave.

Negotiations could therefore still be resumed by EU member states.

Listen to the Spanish podcast of this story by the Euranet Plus partner Castilla y Leon es Radio

Listen to the English podcast of this story by the Euranet Plus News Agency

Co-production by Castilla y Leon es Radio and the Euranet Plus News Agency
Authors: Andrea Diez Sanroma, Castilla y Leon es Radio; Laeticia Markakis, Euranet Plus News Agency
Get more podcasts in Spanish by Euranet Plus partner Castilla y Leon es Radio