Members of the European Parliament today ruled in favour of extending minimum maternity leave in Europe from 14 to 20 weeks, a proposal which they must now try to sell to individual governments, who will be reluctant introduce the change.
In the end, MEPs decided to go beyond the initial proposal of the European Commission, which called for 18 weeks, but to come in lower than the 24-week period recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Considerable opposition is expected to the proposal in parts of the EU, where some countries like Britain and Germany are adamantly opposed to the extension of maternity leave and associated costs to their economies.
The European Parliament proposal calls for mothers to be paid their whole salary during the 20 week leave, something that would be a radical change for some Member States, which currently only guarantee a portion of salary.
In Spain, mothers are currently entitled to 16 weeks leave on full pay, with the first six being mandatory, while the rest are transferable to the spouse.
In its vote today, the European Parliament also opted to implement EU-wide paternity leave of at least two weeks, on full pay as in the case of maternity leave.
The text also includes amendments to prohibit the dismissal of pregnant workers from the beginning of their pregnancy until at least 6 months after the end of the period of maternity leave.
In addition, women have the right to return to their jobs or equivalent positions, i.e. with the same salary, professional category and functions they had before their maternity leave.
MEPs also established that workers should not made to do night duty or overtime during the ten weeks prior to childbirth and whilst breastfeeding.
The European Women’s Lobby, said that if governments accepted the proposals of the European Parliament it would make “a huge difference to the lives of millions of women throughout Europe.”
Employers across Europe have vehemently opposed the plan however, warning that the cost of extending maternity leave makes it unfeasible.
