LABOUR AND GREEN NANNYISM ON MATERNITY LEAVE COULD LEAD TO BUSINESSES DOING A 'SUGAR' WARNS YANNAKOUDAKIS
Posted, January 27, 2010 @ 00:00
Labour and Green MEPs in Brussels are risking women's long term employment prospects by trying to introduce over-prescriptive amendments to a directive on health and pregnant women.
Conservative women's rights and gender equality spokesman in Brussels Marina Yannakoudakis warned that the directive, if not returned to the true spirit in which it was conceived, could lead to businesses doing a 'sugar' with women at the employment stage. Mr Sugar famously said he should be allowed to ask about maternity intentions before deciding whether to give a job to a woman.
In a statement Mrs Yannakoudakis said,
"The original directive being proposed by the Commission was striking the right balance on what health and safety considerations should be given to post-natal women. Ideas such as no late night shift work and making allowances for breast feeding available for six months, for example. The Directive was about giving women choices.
However, thanks to Labour and Green amendments it is in danger of becoming a diktat which forces women to take six weeks off before giving birth and twenty weeks afterwards. This is completely unnecessary and stops a woman making a decision that is right for her and her child. Through the amendments they have taken something positive and turned it into yet another unwelcome ruling from the EU.
Worse still they are jeopardising the future employment prospects of women with this heavy-handed nannyism. I fear that many employers will do a 'sugar' and consider a job offer on the basis of perceived maternity intentions in women of a certain age to avoid such draconian rules if they are passed. Needless to say conservatives will be opposing the Labour and Green amendments."