Editorial

Whatever the final outcome of the passionate maternity leave debate may be, it will have to make both commercial and social sense, even if it entails some compromise by the parties involved in the fray.

The political parties, employers and lobby groups tugging at the issues surrounding the European Union’s resolution to put maternity leave at a minimum 20 weeks and introduce two weeks’ paternity leave must all work together to identify what exactly works for Malta. Discussions must revolve around a holistic analysis of the issues specific to the scenario prevailing in this tiny country that has its own pecularities.

Small businesses are the backbone of Malta’s commercial community. Because of their very size, a significant number of them might have difficulty footing the bill for even one of the employees on maternity leave.

Paternity leave could be less of an issue, although it is common knowledge in commercial circles that many small business owners dread the prospect of men officially being granted time off on the birth of a baby. It would be archaic for employers to treat childbirth as an exclusively female issue and, thus, the paternity leave measure is long overdue.

However, the risks on the employment front fall firmly at women’s feet. Their employability could be seriously harmed if they are deemed too expensive to recruit in the long run. That notion must be nipped in the bud. The 20 weeks resolution could work with state support for the smallest businesses or a tax incentive encouraging firms to take on women.

Businesses, in turn, must analyse the real cost-benefit of investing in maternity and paternity leave.

From skilled workers to professionals, the female participation rate in Malta remains low when compared to the EU average. The authorities and the business community must re-examine the reasons behind the statistics. Cultural issues play a part in the numbers and there are very real challenges facing working parents. Workplace inflexibility is one.

Twenty weeks for mothers and two for fathers means families are able to enjoy and bond with their child, get some much-needed rest and readjust to a different lifestyle. Babies are most demanding on parents’ energy in their first five months. By allowing parents time off to care for babies full-time at this critical stage, businesses will be able to welcome back employees who are happy and energetic after having had enough time to settle the family arrangements.

It would be myopic for the business community to frown upon a considerable part of the workforce that is talented, hard-working, diligent and multi-tasking just because, at some point, they could become pregnant and need time off to bond with their babies.

If businesses – which are loathe to lose key staff, anyway – want to see the return on investment in training, perks and promotions long-term, they need to look at maternity and paternity leave as a talent retention measure. Staff is most likely to repay respect and generosity with loyalty and productivity.

Malta needs to change its attitude towards working parents for it to ever see mothers returning to the labour market. Plans for additional childcare centres in the Budget are welcome news but there must be an entire supportive framework in place to foster this drive. Denying parents precious time with their newborns will inevitably result in resignations.

To most people, children still come first.