MEPs YESTERDAY voted in favour of extending maternity leave to 20 weeks on full pay, despite strong opposition from several national governments and intense lobbying from business organisations.
The controversial draft law, which is likely to be watered down after much wrangling in the Council of Ministers, also includes a provision for two weeks of fully paid paternity leave.
Portuguese Socialist MEP Edite Estrela, who drafted the legislation, hailed yesterday’s vote as “good news for our economic future . . . maternity leave cannot be regarded as a burden on social security systems, it is an investment in our future.”
The draft law, which was approved by a large majority, went much further than the European Commission’s original proposal to increase minimum entitlement from 14 weeks to 18.
“The vote today is very ambitious,” said EU justice commissioner Viviane Reding. “But it certainly will not make it easy to find a balanced compromise with the council in the near future . . . I would like to see a balanced text that keeps women in the job market while not putting too much burden on member states’ finances.”
In Ireland, women are entitled to 26 weeks’ maternity leave with the State paying benefits of between €225 and €270 per week. A further 16 weeks’ unpaid maternity leave is also available.
Labour MEP Nessa Childers rejected as “exaggerated and grossly short-sighted” claims that the draft law would put further strain on Irish businesses and cost the Government more than €300m to implement.
“[Criticism] doesn’t take into account that more than 50 per cent of Irish women are already afforded full pay by their employers, which immediately slashes their figure by more than half,” she said.
“The costs become even more minimal when we consider that the legislation will provide for more women to remain in the workforce and contribute to the economy. In fact, the costs of implementing this legislation will be fully covered across Europe if only 1.4 per cent more women are able to enter the workforce and thus increase the size of our economies.”