European social partner negotiations could also be the way forward for the resolution of the revision of the Pregnant Workers Directive, nowadays commonly known as the maternity leave directive. Following the collapse of the conciliation procedure which attempted to bridge the disparate positions of the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, in particular on the issue of the proposed extension of mandatory maternity leave, the Belgian presidency had requested the European social partners to feed in their opinion on the issues preventing a political agreement on the draft EU directive.
In December 2010 the outgoing Belgian presidency directed an official request to the European social partners to develop an analysis on three specific aspects of the draft proposal (including the amendments proposed by the European Parliament) with the aim to contribute to the Council’s discussion: on the length of maternity leave, on the level of financial compensation and on the passerelle clause given the links with parental and other types of leave.
BusinessEurope has coordinated the response on behalf of the other employers’ organisations representing the crafts sector as well as public enterprises. The official response was submitted in early September to the incumbent Polish presidency in time to inform future discussions at forthcoming meetings of the Employment and Social Affairs Council.
Maltese business aligns itself to the common position adopted by European employers’ organisations expressing several concerns in particular on the issue of the length of maternity leave and the payment linked to any extension of maternity leave. These issues have been flagged to the Polish presidency.
On the length of maternity leave, Maltese business is convinced that any extension of maternity leave, whether four weeks or six weeks, will always be problematic for enterprises, particularly small firms. Putting overly restrictive and costly conditions on businesses concerning maternity leave will ultimately harm women’s employment opportunities and employability. Moreover, who will foot the bill for increased maternity leave remains to-date an unanswered query with little if any indications that the costs can be taken on by the public purse at a time when public finances are increasingly constrained due to the raging debt crisis.
For more information on EU affairs related to business, one may contact the MBB on 2125 1719 or email info@mbb.org.mt. One can also visit www.mbb.org.mt