The European Parliament’s vote in favour of increasing maternity leave to 20 weeks on full pay across the continent brought a mixed reaction last week, with Labour MEPs warning that the move could leave poorer mothers in Britain less well-off.
“While the idea of 20 weeks on full pay may appear superficially attractive, if this proposal were to remain unchanged there is a real danger of the British Government cutting back on existing rights”, warned London MEP Mary Honeyball after the vote.
Women in Britain are currently entitled to 52 weeks leave – six of them on 90 per cent salary and 33 on statutory pay with the rest unpaid. Labour estimates mothers on the minimum wage could lose around £650.
But Ms Honeyball welcomed other measures in the EP proposal, including two weeks’ fully paid paternity leave and the legal right to time off for breastfeeding.
Viviane Reding, the European Union’s Commissioner for gender equality, described the parliament’s position as “very ambitious”. The European Commission had proposed an extension of leave from 14 to 18 weeks, allowing member states more flexibility on pay.
However, it is far from a done deal, as the resolution now goes to the Council of Ministers, where some fear hostile governments will find it easier to build a blocking minority.
The British Government has already attacked the proposal, with a spokesman claiming it would cost Britain an extra £2.4 billion a year – doubling the maternity budget. Ms Reding warned that finding a “balanced compromise” between the council and the parliament would not be easy.
