New Work-Life Balance Law Shows Policymakers Are Out Of Touch, Maltese Activists Warn
Malta’s implementation of the EU’s Work-Life Balance Directive has given parents – particularly fathers – a new set of rights but some NGOs and activists are questioning the practicality of it all.
The Malta Women’s Lobby, National Parents Society of Persons with Disability (NPSPD), Moviment Graffitti, Positive Birth Malta, The Maltese Daddy and the Aditus Foundation issued a statement to describe the implementation as a “disappointing” one that goes against the spirit of the directive.
“The government has largely opted for the bare minimum when it comes to implementing measures in the WLB [Work-Life Balance] Directive for working parents and carers,” a press release said, in agreement with MEP David Casa’s criticisms of the law.
Indeed, they said the government totally excluded parents of children with disabilities, as well as women’s, and father’s lobby groups, from any kind of consultation.
However, before we get into the heart of their arguments, let’s understand what perks the Work-Life Balance Directive offers:
•New fathers will be given ten days of paternity leave, up from the current two days, that must be taken within the first 15 days of their new baby’s birth
•Parents will be entitled to up to two months of paid parental leave each, at sick leave rates, that must be taken before the child’s eighth birthday. The leave will be split over eight years. As it stands, parental leave is unpaid, four months per parent and can be availed of in established periods of one month each.
•Carers’ leave will be introduced into the law, a period of five days of unpaid leave a year to medically look after relatives living in the same residence.
•The government will bear the expenses until 1st January 2024, after which the private sector will start financing the measures through the Maternity Leave Trust Fund.
•Parents will have the right to request flexible working arrangements until their children reach eight years of age.
One of the main criticisms put forward by groups and activists was the value that the law attributes to the care of children according to the rate of leave.
“The Directive states that the two months of parental leave will be paid at sick leave level.”
Besides the negative connotation that sick leave may ascribe to parental leave, this factor grossly underpays the beneficiaries involved and thus makes it a lot less attractive for working parents who want to care for their children.
“In real terms, this [the two months of paid leave] translates to €21.85 daily for parents. With the current rise in the cost of living, no one can afford to take this leave and the implementation of this Directive will be largely ineffective,” they explained.
“Expecting parents to live on a pay of €21.85 a day is beyond unrealistic. Such conditions will not only put off fathers from taking this leave, but mothers, too. Parents cannot afford to accept such a drastic reduction to their income, at a time when their family expenses are the highest.”
Such a “miserly rate” indicates that the Directive is pretty surface level and that those policymakers involved in creating it are “out of touch with the realities of the regular citizens”.
Similarly, they argued that the five days of unpaid caring leave denotes a lack of importance to caring since the government has neglected from assigning any pay or value to it.
This, they said, not only reinforces the charity model towards disability and those in need of care, but also negatively affects the earnings of women and mothers since they already bear the brunt of having to reduce their hours and take cuts in their monthly pay for the sake of caring for family members who need long-term assistance.
Meanwhile, parents who care for children with a disability notably explained that assistance services are actually decreasing instead of increasing. This subsequently adds to the expectation to take on the responsibility of care, but this time, with no compensation, making it disappointingly unjust.
Another issue that the groups pointed out was the lack of flexibility.
“The Directive also fails to acknowledge that every birth is different, and that fathers need to avail themselves of the utmost flexibility in their decision as to when to opt for the 10 days of paternity leave.”
They also explained that the legal notice which binds parents to avail of their parental leave in periods of at least two weeks restricts them.
“For example parents can only take one month of paid leave in the first four years, leaving the remaining months for when children are older. This lack of flexibility is, once again, indicative of a lack of understanding of family needs in a scenario where both parents work.”
The organisations further brought up an unfulfilled promise made back in 2017 when the government launched a public consultation about paid leave for parents in the case of children.
Five years later, the promised solutions remain unheard and unspoken of.
Alternatively, the press release illuminated some discriminatory trends in the Direcitve saying that the additional four weeks of maternity leave are only available to Maltese mothers, migrants with refugee status, EU nationals, and non-Maltese mothers married to a Maltese citizen.
“Are we going to see the same discriminatory behaviour against sections of foreign working mothers played out again in this Directive?”
Do you think that the Work-Life Balance Directive is out of touch with reality?
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