While welcoming the Family Leave Bill 2005, general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union Toni Moore has called for “swift clarification” of some of its provisions.
During Tuesday’s debate on the bill in the House of Assembly, Moore, who is also parliamentary representative for St George North, referred to some areas she felt could be problematic.
In relation to Section 5.2, which recommends paternity leave being granted to a father with a signed document from the mother, Moore stated: “Although it goes on in the subsequent Section to say that there are other things that an employer may consider reasonable at the time given the circumstance instead of just simply taking a written note from the woman, I feel that 5.2 didn’t need to be in at all.
“I don’t want to go into the possibilities that one may want to discuss that one encounters in family court where a woman may be vexed, and then say she ain’t signing a note because a man ain’t getting a leave, and these kinds of things.
“They’re not going to go there, although that may be a practical scenario. But what I would make mention of, and I believe that is where the subsequent Section says given the situation, some other things may be considered. The reality is, that woman might not be in a position that she can sign that note.”
Moore also said that the legislation may lead to “broad approaches on the basis of interpretation” by the employer.
“I personally felt that that requirement for a woman to sign a note should have been one that is struck out because there are other ways of determining [the father] over time,” she said.
“Under the current bill before us, we have made improvements on maternity leave from 12 weeks to 14 and in the instance of multiple births, 17 weeks. But we note that there was no equal provision made for paternity leave if there are multiple births. And this is not a small concern. And it’s not a small concern for those who have the experience of giving birth to a twin or to a triplet, or more than that.
“If we are really serious about men being part of the children’s life in those formative years, in the same way we consider additional time for women for multiple births, we must not assume that the woman alone will be able to manage this, especially in a time where there
is the declining extended family support.
“And so, a lot of responsibility falls on mother and father in this situation. So, I think that’s another area that can be looked on as we look to improve the soon to be passed Act.”
The trade unionist also said the legislation could have gone further in making provision for paternity leave to be deferred in instances where a child was ill.
“Under the current legislation or with the current legislation in place, when it comes into force a father can take vacation. He can take paternity leave with two weeks taken during the first three months and the additional week taken at least in the next three months. So, up to six months you have to take this leave but there are situations, and I have one of these situations where the mother is healthy and ready to be discharged from hospital but the child is not.
“And when that child is sick, it’s not only the mother that’s worrying and feeling it, but a father who’s interested in having paternity leave anyhow, not for vacation but for what paternity leave is intended to do.
“So, I think that there is some amount of consideration if we recognise that men want to be involved and are involved and we want to encourage them to be involved in the early stages as well. For extended provision in these kinds of circumstances.”
Moore also expressed concern about the 12-month employment qualification for maternity leave, pointing out that there were many people who were not in stable employment or people who worked on contract, even for Government, who may not meet the 12-month threshold.
She said the trade union movement would like to see, even in short-term employment, that contributions are paid over to the National Insurance for such transient employees.
(MB)
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