Proposals to improve maternity rights and childcare

In October 2008, the European Commission published its proposals for improved paid maternity leave for Europe’s working women. In the same month, it also published a report on childcare facilities in the EU. While the social partners have generally welcomed the new proposals, they remain divided about certain aspects, such as extending maternity leave. Regarding childcare, the Commission concludes that childcare services are failing to respond to parents’ needs.

Details of maternity leave proposals

On 3 October 2008, the European Commission published its proposals to amend Council Directive 92/85/EEC on measures for improving the health and safety at work of pregnant women and women who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding (see Press release). More specifically, the Commission plans to improve rights to maternity leave for working women, including those who are self-employed. A proposed directive (COM (2008) 600/04) would increase the minimum maternity leave period from 14 to 18 weeks. The directive would also improve women’s pay while on maternity leave, by recommending that women are paid 100% of their salary; this is significantly higher than the current minimum level of maternity pay, which only requires that payment is at least equivalent to sick pay. In addition, women would have more flexibility over when to take the non-compulsory portion of their leave – that is, before or after childbirth.

The proposed directive would also offer stronger protection against [dismissals](/search/node/areas OR industrialrelations OR dictionary OR definitions OR dismissals?oldIndex) and a right to return to the same or an equivalent job after maternity leave. In addition, it provides for a right to request flexible working patterns during or after the end of maternity leave, although the employer will have the right to refuse this request. Self-employed women who are pregnant would also receive new entitlements, obtaining the same access to maternity leave as employees, although on a voluntary basis.

Reaction of social partners

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has welcomed the Commission’s package of proposals, pointing out that the social partners at EU level had already committed themselves to a range of actions to improve the reconciliation of work, private and family life; moreover, they had started negotiations on the revision of the Parental Leave Directive (Directive 96/34/EC), specifically around issues related to the care obligations of all workers. For this reason, ETUC also expressed concern that no proposals had been made in relation to elder care or to tackle shortcomings in the existing directive, particularly with regard to health and safety (see [Press release, 3 October 2008](http://www.etuc.org/a/5390?var_recherche=maternity leave)).

The European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Union Européenne de l’artisanat et des petites et moyennes enterprises, UEAPME), while welcoming the proposals to extend protection to self-employed people, was cautious of the proposal to extend maternity leave to 18 weeks (see Press release, 3 October 2008 (42Kb PDF)), arguing that its timing might jeopardise the negotiations of the European social partners. Meanwhile, the President of the Confederation of European Business (BusinessEurope), Ernest-Antoine Seillière, also recently emphasised the social partners’ commitment to work-life balance (see speech given at Conference on work attractiveness, 9 October 2008 (129Kb PDF)).

Report on childcare facilities

On the same date that it published its proposals on maternity lave, the Commission published a report on the Implementation of the Barcelona objectives concerning childcare facilities for pre-school-age children. The Barcelona objectives, adopted at the European Council meeting of March 2002, called for the provision of childcare ‘by 2010 to at least 90% of all children between three years old and the mandatory school age and at least 33% of all children under three years of age’.

The report concludes that childcare services in EU countries are failing to respond to the needs of parents and that, despite some progress, most Member States have missed the 90% Barcelona target (see Press release, 3 October 2008). Childcare is recognised as an essential element for reconciling work and family life. In March 2008, at their Tripartite Social Summit, the European social partners agreed to submit a joint response on childcare. In a letter of 7 July 2008 to the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Vladimír Špidla, they noted that the provision of quality, accessible and affordable childcare for all is recognised as ‘one of the most effective measures for achieving work–life balance, promoting the participation of women in the labour market and narrowing the gender pay gap, and that quality childcare also brings a positive contribution to children’s development’. However, unlike their position on parental and maternity leave, they believe that ‘ensuring the availability of childcare is first and foremost the responsibility of public authorities’, with the social partners only having a complementary role.

Sonia McKay, Working Lives Research Institute