Maternity leave extension 'must be supported'

The government should support the proposed extension of maternity leave if it wanted to be taken seriously when speaking about the family, according to Alternattiva Demokratika.

The proposal to extend the leave to 20 weeks on full pay was made on February 23 by the Women's Rights Committee of the European Parliament.

Paid maternity leave in Malta is currently 14 weeks.

AD spokesman for social protection Nighat Urpani yesterday said it was vital that the public sector and companies did more to grant security to their female employees so that they could return to work with no threat to their opportunities.

The effectiveness of maternity leave she continued, should be thoroughly evaluated and governments should provide subsidies and grants only to those companies that acknowledged the social importance of maternity leave as an essential family friendly measure.

The business lobby has criticised the measure, saying that it would continue to pile pressure on companies as they struggled with the effects of the international economic crisis. However, the government, so far, has not declared its position.