EU ministers have overwhelmingly rejected a move by Euro MPs to extend maternity leave to 20 weeks on full pay in the 27-nation bloc.
Oh, I see. What about paternity leave? What was proposed with that?
Minimum maternity leave in the EU is currently 14 weeks. The European Commission has proposed extending it to 18 weeks, to improve work-life balance.
Oh, so women already get 14 weeks off. No mention of what men get, but the EU proposed extending women's 14 to 18 weeks, to 'improve work-life balance'.
The work-life balance of women. Apparently such a balance is not an issue for men, who must simply work.
The UK was among the countries that lobbied against the 20-week plan. One assessment said such a measure could cost UK businesses an extra £2.5bn (2.8bn euros) a year.
Gosh, I'm so proud. This government could not even deliver anonymity for men accused of rape, but when businesses are threatened, they draw the line.
Not that profit margins should bend to the will of indulgent and selfish women, of course.
But then, neither should the lives and reputations of innocent and presumptively innocent men.
A statement from the Council - the EU body representing member states' governments - said many ministers were also reluctant to include paternity leave in the directive, "whose main purpose was to improve the health and safety of pregnant women and workers who have recently given birth".
The MEPs' amendments included a proposal for two weeks of paid paternity leave for fathers as a minimum.
So ... we don't even have two weeks minimum paternity leave for men?
Yet, women already have managed to secure fourteen weeks maternity leave.
And the debate was all about extending the fourteen weeks to twenty.
And nobody was really very interested at all in granting men a paltry fortnight.
And to think, feminists actually wonder why women cannot shake off their 'traditional' caregiver role.
No comments:
Post a Comment