Maltese MEPs today voted in favour of a European Commission proposal to extend maternity leave to a minimum of 20 weeks from the current 14. However the Nationalist MEPs said that an extension to 18 weeks would have been preferable.
The proposal went before the European Parliament for a first reading early this afternoon and was approved by a slim majority of MEPs.
Fathers will also be given two weeks to spend time with their newborn.
The proposal now goes to EU governments, some of which are opposed to the move on grounds it will add a huge burden to hard-pressed taxpayers.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, replying to a parliamentary question yesterday, said that its financial impact would depend on the precise form of the final proposal.
Employers have warned of the high costs to competitiveness of raising fully-paid maternity leave. The Malta Employers' Association earlier this week also proposed that the government should gradually take over payment for maternity leave.
Britain has said the measure would more than double its maternity leave bill, adding up to 2.4 billion pounds a year.
BUSUTTIL, CASA, SAY EXTENSION TO 18 WEEKS PREFERABLE
MEPs Simon Busuttil and David Casa said in a statement that while they had voted in favour of the Commission's proposed directive they disagreed with certain points contained in the package.
“This is the result of our first reading and we supported it in a constructive spirit, although it went further than we would have liked it to go,.” they said.
They said that along with the EPP, they voted against the 20 week extension because they preferred maternity leave to be extended to a more reasonable 18 weeks. Nevertheless, the 20-week limit was approved by Parliament by a margin of just 7 votes (327 in favour and 320 against).
However, Parliament also adopted an EPP amendment that would give the necessary flexibility to Member States to include other family-related leave within the 20 weeks maternity leave. Moreover, they also adopted an EPP amendment that would put a ceiling of 75% of pay in order to limit the financial costs of the proposal. These measures inserted by the EPP were intended to render the new rights much less costly than they would otherwise have been.
“We would have preferred 18 weeks but we agreed with our group to support the entire report because, on the whole, it is a reasonable package and we managed to insert a measure of flexibility.” Busuttil and Casa said.
“Moreover, Parliament’s position includes new rights that we support, such as extending maternity leave to adoptions and taking into account the interests of children with disabilities.” they said.
The report was carried with 375 votes in favour, 208 against and 64 abstentions. The European Parliament will now enter into negotiations with the Council of Ministers to hammer out a compromise and produce a final text.