Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-05-04-Speech-1-079"
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"en.20090504.16.1-079"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, firstly I should like to thank the following people: the shadow rapporteurs; the draftsmen of the opinions of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Legal Affairs; the secretariats of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and the Socialist Group in the European Parliament; the social partners; the NGOs; the experts who took part in the public hearings held in Brussels and Lisbon; the Commission and Council representatives; and my assistants. I thank everyone for their support and suggestions.
The proposals in my report are therefore the result of a highly participatory process and of many working meetings with all those interested in equipping the European Union with a directive on maternity leave appropriate to our times. The main aims of my proposed amendments are: firstly, to reinforce the rights of female workers during pregnancy, after birth and while breastfeeding; secondly, to promote the reconciliation of professional, family and private life; and thirdly, to help Europeans who want to have children to do so, thereby increasing the birth rate.
I therefore propose extending the protection against dismissal to 12 months, removing the obligation to perform night work and overtime if the woman so wishes, and reducing the working day by two hours for the purpose of breastfeeding, without the loss of any privileges. However, the most innovative proposal in relation to the European Commission’s proposal concerns paternity leave. Community law must enshrine the principle of shared leave to encourage a fairer distribution of private and family responsibilities between men and women and to thus improve the quality of life and well-being of children. Fathers must be involved in family responsibilities, from the birth or adoption of a child. We must also combat the economic, social and cultural prejudices associated with the right to paternity leave, and change mentalities.
Whereas, for example, in Sweden, a man who does not share the parental leave is regarded by society as a poor father, in the countries of southern Europe, the reverse is true: fathers are coerced by employers and work colleagues into not taking the leave to which they are legally entitled. I therefore propose that two weeks’ paternity leave should be mandatory, non-transferable and paid at 100%, without the loss of any professional rights. It has been proven that the sharing of family responsibilities between men and women is the first step towards the essential reconciliation of family and professional life. While having the same right as men to a professional career, women cannot, however, do the same work as men outside the home and triple the amount within the home.
Family life is one of the reasons why there are more unemployed women than men. Furthermore, a common question in job interviews is whether applicants intend to marry or have children. Women’s personal lives are scrutinised and they end up losing out if they exhibit the natural desire to be mothers. Motherhood cannot be viewed as a problem for employers or for the economy. On the contrary, it is a service provided to society, as it allows us to tackle the low birth rate and ageing population and, at the same time, guarantee the sustainability of the social security system.
It is therefore unacceptable for women to be penalised because they are mothers. However, the truth is that they frequently cannot make progress in their careers, they do not receive the usual productivity bonuses or share of the profits, and they have to accept more menial and less professionally gratifying work. We need to change this situation."@en1
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