The Estrela report – the mother of more evils? Helga Ellul The Malta Chamber constantly follows gender equality issues due to their direct implications on female participation in the economy and general labour market issues. In this regard, it has also continued to monitor developments related to the proposed mandatory six-week extension of maternity leave, particularly in terms of the European Commission’s proposals on a draft directive on pregnant and breastfeeding workers and the controversial Estrela report. This report was approved by the FEMM Committee of the European Parliament and its contents now await a final vote in the main Chamber which is expected in the coming days. We stress that our business community is extremely concerned with the implications of the Estrela Report because it introduces a series of novel elements that are highly detrimental to competitiveness. Besides, the proposals are expected to be counter-productive. That said, the Malta Chamber has always supported the European Social Agenda which developed as a direct response to a number of fundamental issues that changed the socio economic framework of the Union, including technological advances, globalisation and an aging demography. But, whilst it is undeniable that social solidarity is indispensible, the Malta Chamber believes that healthy debate is crucial to ensure that this process does not cloud out the EU’s long term competitiveness objectives within the current economic scenario and in turn risk jeopardizing Europe’s very own social agenda. It is an undeniable fact that only business and enterprise can sustain the Social Model. Indeed, it is only business that can lead Europe out of the economic crisis and into growth and long-term prosperity. But for business to do so, we must all ensure it remains competitive. We, as an integral part of the European Union need to show better coherence between economic policy and ambitious labour-market policies on the other. EU regulation, in this particular area should not go overboard. At this particularly sensitive time, there should be no new, unnecessary or disproportionate burdens on business especially since Europe is striving to compete with other regions for its share of the global market. In many of these regions, workers’ rights are relatively depressed or even non-existent. According to a position paper we recently submitted to the Prime Minister, all Maltese MEPs as well as to BusinessEurope and Eurochambres, the Malta Chamber stressed that certain proposals made through the Maternity Leave Directive – namely increasing maternity leave from 14 to 20 weeks would result in a large burden on business. This is invariably expected to increase costs and undermine competitiveness in more ways than one. The issue creates a disproportionate burden on micro enterprises, which make up 96 per cent of the local businesses. In the absence of effective solutions and alternatives, enterprises employing one or two people have limited flexibility and could find it extremely difficult to fill in the gaps created by maternity leave. But this is not merely a problem for micro enterprises of SMEs. Some of our larger members employing several hundreds of workers, typically have around 90 employees on parental leave simultaneously.

The skills gap created by women on maternity leave is more acute at the local level because systems of temporary workers agencies and child-care facilities are not fully developed. Presently, there is very little in terms of temping agencies and child-care facilities do not extend beyond office-hours. We are of a firm conviction that a high minimum level of maternity leave will be counterproductive to mothers. It will serve to fuel higher discrimination not least through a widening of the wage gap that already exists between genders. Moreover it would reinforce the reality of the ‘glass ceiling’ phenomenon in career paths for women. To this end, women could not realistically aspire to occupy the highest positions in business and at the same time absent themselves from work for long periods at a stretch. We believe that the way forward in tackling this issue is two-fold. On one hand we need to ensure that business knows where it stands. Rather than the piecemeal process currently being experienced with minimum levels of maternity leave being increased from one year to the next, Member States need to decide on an ultimate long term target for this directive, which all parties will strive to achieve by a given realistic date. On the other hand, at the local level, the necessary support services must be fostered to develop and provide the necessary services to employers and workers alike. In addition to this, the Malta Chamber proposes that any financial burdens which could be incurred as a result of the Directive should be alleviated through cost-sharing agreement with the State ideally through a European funding arrangement, as it is firmly believed that this is a social cost. In conclusion, the Malta Chamber believes that whilst it recognizes the validity and benefits of having a minimum level of maternity leave, more focus must be given on attaining flexibility between the employer and the employee, to suit the realities and needs to both parties. The Malta Chamber does not believe in “quick fix” solutions to increase female participation. We believe artificial impositions are more limiting than helpful.