David Casa, the European Parliament’s lead negotiator on the Work-Life Balance Directive, finished his negotiations on this same directive back in 2019.
And this August seals the deadline for implementation, as every EU member state, the Commission and Parliament reached an agreement ‘to seal a new core minimum of rights for working families and carers across the European Union’.
The Maltese Government announced late July of 2022 that it will be adopting the directive as law. ‘But the story does not end there’ said Casa, as the directive should be acting as a ‘toolkit’ to improve the lives of working families and combat gender inequality.
‘The way the Directive goes about improving work-life balance is to bolster the leave entitlements for second parents. It takes a multi-pronged approach at ensuring that the caring responsibilities do not fall exclusively on one parent, typically the mother.’
What does it offer?
- Both parents get 2 months paid leave each, with another 2 of transferable leave.
(Taken flexibly, up until the child is 8, parents will have strong tools to juggle work and family). - Fathers will have up to 10 days of paid leave upon the birth of their children – an improvement over a single day of leave.
- Workers with relatives needing special attention will get 5 days of leave to deliver assistance.
- The Directive is also child-oriented, meaning it does not discriminate against non-conventional family arrangements and is inclusive of same-sex couples, disregards marital status, and includes adoptions.
These rights are set to be implemented by the 2nd of August, with the Nationalist Party meeting with stakeholders and campaigning not to have a photocopy of minimum standards enshrined in law.
‘The Directive should not be a missed opportunity. Our families deserve better. The Work-Life Balance Directive is a giant step forward in terms of family rights. We’re now in the final steps that can see positive changes in our families and workplaces.’
‘So we need to see a better law commensurate to the hard work fathers, mothers, and carers do in their everyday lives.’
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