Caymanian mum Bethany Ebanks-Pacheco says the planned labour law to increase parental leave, though welcomed, still falls short of real progress when it comes to giving parents the time they need with their newborn babies.
Ebanks-Pacheco, executive member of the Parental Entitlements Working Group, which has been championing changes to local leave benefits, expressed mixed feelings about proposed changes and believes six months leave should be the minimum for mothers.
She said she is “thrilled” changes are coming, however, and believes it is “a fantastic step” in the right direction for the country.
“I am sad that the proposed changes are to bring the Labour Act in line with the civil servant’s policy – which is not excellent,” she told the Cayman Compass via emailed comment.
Ebanks-Pacheco said she hopes government reviews the report the parental group submitted over a year ago, which outlined the benefits of a minimum of six months of parental leave for mothers in its proposed changes.
The first six months of a child’s life, she said, is vital to its development and success in life.
“We are asking for a minimum of six months paid parental leave to ensure that mothers have time to heal and recover from birth and develop a strong bond with the child as well as to lean on their support systems and for fathers to have the opportunity to be present in their child’s life,” she said.
Last month, the Compass reported that Cabinet had approved drafting instructions to enhance private-sector employee benefits, like increasing parental leave and improving vacation and overtime pay entitlements under the Labour Act.
Labour Minister Dwayne Seymour, speaking on the proposed changes in Parliament, said it aims “to enhance the legislation to align the local employment standards with that of the civil service of the Cayman Islands government, and the international standards of the labour reform enforced by the International Labour Organization”.
Civil servants’ policy ‘missed opportunity’
Ebanks-Pacheco said she had hoped the group would have been consulted on the proposed changes to the draft bill for the Labour Act.
“But if that is not possible, we look forward to submitting feedback during the public consultation period,” she said.
She said the change in civil servants’ policy, which took effect this year, “missed an opportunity to implement an ‘actual’ change for the community”.
Mothers in the civil service, she said, can now take 110 days of leave, with 50 days being unpaid.
“Unfortunately, with the current cost of living, the rising cost of bills, food, and simple essential items to survive daily, no mother or family can afford to take that time unpaid,” she said.
Fathers in the civil service can now receive 20 days leave with 10 days being unpaid.
“Although, 10 days is less than 50 days unpaid, it still will make a great impact on some families,” she said.
This will, in some cases, she said, put families back to square one with shortened bonding and recovery periods for mothers.
It also means shorter bonding periods for fathers and other caretakers and the reliance on childcare by domestic workers or daycares, “which is what we are trying to avoid so soon in a child’s life”, Ebanks-Pacheco said.
For Cayman to be attractive as a jurisdiction for businesses to relocate, she said, the country must consider bringing the leave changes in line with the International Labour Organization and World Health Organization.
“WHO recommends paid leave for a minimum of six months to exclusively breastfeed. How would that be possible for families if they must consider unpaid leave and are more concerned about getting back to work because of the cost of living?” she said.
WHO recommends paid leave for a minimum of six months to exclusively breastfeed.
– Bethany Ebanks-Pacheco
In order to be a competitive jurisdiction, she said, the government must be bold in their changes and offer more to families to help support healthy growth and development of children physically, psychologically and socially.
“What we give families today is the output we will receive in the future,” she said.
She said the effort to move the needle to enhance parental leave has been a labour of love for herself and several other mums in the community.
“It would be all for nought if these proposed changes to the Labour Act were just changed to be changed and not changed with foresight and purpose in mind,” she said.
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