In recent days, the debate on extending parental leave has gained prominence in Portugal, driven by a citizens’ legislative initiative generally approved by the Assembly of the Republic, which extends initial parental leave, guaranteeing more paid leave time for parents.
This understandable desire of a notable number of citizens, expresses the needs of Portuguese fathers and mothers and, therefore, deserves the consideration of all political parties, so that, in the context of specialized appreciation, the best solutions can be articulated, the for the sake of the birth rate, for the imperative conciliation between professional, family and personal life, for the fight against gender inequalities, that is, for the sake of families and for the sake of the future of our children.
And this consideration, which is required, does not dispense with responsibility, common sense and moderation. But this was not what was witnessed in the debate in general, due to the different approaches to this issue by some political parties with parliamentary seats.
In fact, there was an excessive “festival of parental leave”, with various political forces proposing parental leave for all tastes and arguing that the longer and more paid the leave, the better. And such is the goodness and thoughtfulness of these legislative initiatives, that about two years ago the Livre party defended an initial parental leave of 120 days to 360 days and now comes with a diametrically different legislative initiative, from 120 days to 180 days.
They forget that the low birth rate in Portugal is not miraculously reversed with more paid parental leave
In fact, there are those who look at the Nordic countries as the Holy Grail of social policies. And if Sweden and Norway have long and well-paid parental leaves, they don’t understand why Portugal can’t already adopt these policies, deliberately forgetting that the Swedish model was implemented over several decades and that it has a stable and robust to withstand it, contrary to what happens in Portugal.
They also forget that the low birth rate in Portugal is not miraculously reversed with more paid parental leave, because despite this reducing the cost and economic impact of having children, the cost of having and raising children in Portugal, when considered , goes far beyond the first months after birth, and goes far beyond knowing how much this leave will cut into your salary.
But the most interesting thing is that in this debate the PS, CHEGA and IL, succumbing once again to the temptation of populism and electoralism, sided with the authors of the initiative. This way of workingwith heavy doses of emotion and little support for reason, is only effective in a country with no memory and little political literacy. Many people will have forgotten that the PS just over a year ago – during the Decent Work Agenda – voted against the proposals to extend initial parental leave.
It will have already been forgotten by many that the PS just over a year ago – during the Decent Work Agenda – voted against the proposals to extend initial parental leave
The PSD, maintaining the coherence that distinguishes it, reaffirmed its firm commitment to supporting families and fathers and mothers who decide to have children in Portugal more and better, whether with revised parenting times or with initiatives that include greater labor flexibility, however, rightly not without a broad debate and a broad consensus, in the context of Social Coordination, as these are changes to the Labor Law, and also as they are measures that involve a significant additional cost for companies and the State. Therefore, it is necessary to find the right balance between the rights of workers and the needs of companies and the State – without putting the sustainability of Social Security at risk – as this is the only way to continue supporting Portuguese families.
