I'll admit that I don't know what you're referring to, but as far as I'm aware there is nothing in this proposal about mandatory parental leave - it merely aims to increase the minimum duration of the leave while ensuring the eligible parent gets fairly paid and to work towards erasing the often enormous differences among EU members.
There was another proposal, that would ban women from working for a certain amount of time after giving birth. And another suggestion for mandatory breast feeding... Fortunately, none of them went through.
"20 weeks' maternity leave on full pay, six of which would have to be taken before the birth."
FUCK that. I realize that many pregnancies are physically difficult and many jobs are physically demanding, but if you're one of the lucky ones who feels physically comfortable in late pregnancy and can still perform your job duties, why SHOULD you have to sit at home on your ass for six weeks? Shouldn't childbearing women, with advice and information from their health care providers, be able to make their own determinations as to when their leave is best used?
Exactly this. Just because pregnancy can be debilitating for some people doesn't mean it is for everyone, and barring complications or a physically strenuous job there's no reason why a pregnant person would HAVE to stop working before birth, especially six weeks before birth.
Besides which, what if the baby gestates longer than 40 weeks? What if you go out of work at 34 weeks and deliver at 42?
Seriously, the more I think about that idea the more of a hot mess it is.
Maternity laws in Europe are confusing me. Is this the new EU standard they're talking about but countries have their own laws, as well, right? Because somebody told me Sweden had like 16 months covered and as unbelievable as it sounds, it's become my goal to live there.
Well, EU maternity laws are confusing as the structure and duration of parental leave vary wildly among EU member states. The EU standard is just the bare minimum each member state has to meet, but virtually every EU member state's legislation covers more than that minimum. The problem is that some countries offer very long leaves but reduced benefits (like Czech Republic, where you're entitled to 28 weeks of maternity leave and up to 4 years of parental leave, but you don't get 100% pay) and on the other side of the spectrum, countries where you get 100% pay, but a shorter leave (like the Netherlands, where you get full pay, but only for 16 weeks, and possibly some unpaid leave). Sweden does have 16 months of parental leave, but I believe you only get something like 60% pay.
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"20 weeks' maternity leave on full pay, six of which would have to be taken before the birth."
FUCK that. I realize that many pregnancies are physically difficult and many jobs are physically demanding, but if you're one of the lucky ones who feels physically comfortable in late pregnancy and can still perform your job duties, why SHOULD you have to sit at home on your ass for six weeks? Shouldn't childbearing women, with advice and information from their health care providers, be able to make their own determinations as to when their leave is best used?
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Besides which, what if the baby gestates longer than 40 weeks? What if you go out of work at 34 weeks and deliver at 42?
Seriously, the more I think about that idea the more of a hot mess it is.
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