All groups agree to discuss equal paternity leaves
The initial proposal contemplates granting 16 weeks for each parent
The law on equal and non-transferable parental leave for births, adoptions and foster care begins its journey in Congress this Tuesday. It is a project that in principle has the support of the entire Chamber, which has already shown its support at the exhibition.
Currently, women have six weeks of mandatory leave compared to four for men. There are another 10 weeks that, in principle, either of the two could take but in practice they take on the majority. Only in 1,75% of the cases were they assumed, according to the latest data available from Social Security, corresponding to the first quarter of 2018. There were 62,832 permits, of which only 1,099 were assumed by them.
The initiative whose negotiation begins now is the one defended since 2011 by the Equal and Non-transferable Birth and Adoption Permits Platform (Ppiina). It contemplates that the first two weeks be simultaneous for both and distribute another 14 over a year, which may be alternatives to extend the care of the baby. These 16 weeks and their distribution will now be subject to negotiation, so they may undergo changes. The progressive implementation schedule, which may also vary during the negotiation, is initially five years.
The deadlines for the law to be negotiated and developed are also uncertain. In a "normal" legislature it could be processed "in six months," explains socialist deputy Esther Peña. The Government of Pedro Sánchez, which arrives after a motion of censure to oust the PP, only has 84 of the 350 deputies. The socialists fear that the process will last more than a year if there are groups that extend the amendment period, which could cause the legislature to exhaust itself.
The gap between paternity and maternity leave is one of the aspects that the new Law aims to correct
The big parties have their own proposals on this matter, with the exception of the PP, which has nevertheless extended parental leave by three weeks in the last three years. That of the PSOE, unlike that of Podemos, provides for the mandatory and simultaneous first six weeks for both parents "to also guarantee the mother's health care as recommended by the International Labor Organization (ILO)," says Peña. And it agrees that the permits are non-transferable, which is the basis of Ppiina's proposal to combat workplace discrimination against women. Ciudadanos foresees in its proposal four simultaneous weeks, four non-transferable and 10 transferable. Representative Patricia Reyes (Cs) clarifies, however, that the latter are negotiable: "We have to debate it."
La Ppiina highlights that, with this design, "fathers would be involved in caring for their babies to the same extent that mothers and women will not suffer the current discrimination within the labor market." Ángeles Briñón, co-spokesperson for the platform, points out that the important thing is that the extension deadlines are set. He fears that "the spirit" of the proposal will be lost in the negotiation: "Eliminate discrimination due to maternity and the sexual division of labor."
The cost of the measure, according to the platform's estimates, would amount to 1,200 million, at a rate of one hundred million for each new week of extension, although the calculation does not take into account the differences when the birth is multiple or in the case of adoptions, for example. example. Another estimate is higher. The former PP Government, which twice vetoed the vote on the law, alleged that it represented an increase of about 2,000 million euros in the budgets.
The objective of the initiative now under debate is to prevent childcare from overwhelmingly burdening women and hindering their professional careers. “Men and women receive unequal pay because there is an unequal distribution of childcare. For the majority of women, a job under the same conditions is not an option,” stated a study published in February in the United States, of which The New York Times published a reference.
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