The intention of the Ministry of Equality to create, through the reform of the abortion law, a license for very painful rules, something that does not exist in any other Western country, has not only caused friction within the Governmentbetween PSOE and Podemos, but also generates doubts in the workplace. Could it be discriminatory against women? Would it give more ammunition to some employers not to hire or promote them in their jobs?
The doubts are many, although they are somewhat clearer since the Government has advanced this Friday that a agreement with the Ministry of Inclusion and Social Security to set them as one temporary disability of common contingencies, which means that sick leaves have to be given by the doctor, like the rest of disabilities. In addition, although there was initial reluctance on the part of the socialist wing of the Executive, finally they will not entail an expense for the employerbut from the first day the State will take charge, through Social Security.
Doctors: A necessary leave
The doctors they are clear that there must be casualties of this nature. “When the period hurts, it really hurts and for many women it is incapacitating & rdquor ;, pointed out a few weeks ago the president of the Spanish Society of Gynecology (SEGO), Txanton Martínez-Astorquiza. But in the workplace opinion division. On one side, UGT fears that “stigmatize & rdquor; to women and “could become a cause of discrimination & rdquor ;. On the other, CCOO, embraces the proposal and points out that “making visible the straight to be absent from work for medical reasons related to menstruation is the way for women to exercise it & rdquor ;.
The Feminists: A Legal Breakthrough
The Ministry of Equality considers in turn that it will happen like many other rights, divorce, abortion, gay marriage, that initially arouse rejection in some sectors of society but that are later widely accepted even by their detractors.
However, experts like Soul DoveCEO and spokesperson for Cyclo collectivewarns that the creation of a menstrual loss, associated with the abortion law, can generate “a lot of rejection & rdquor; while if you had opted for the promotion of flexible measures in company policies, such as allowing the telework or leave for a few hours that can later be recovered, as the Girona city council has done for its officials, would be something “more accepted.”
In his opinion, casualties, which require going to the doctor, are something “more complex & rdquor; and they may “not contribute as much” such as promoting measures so that companies understand that if your employees “are comfortable, they are more productive” and that if they allow that flexibility “it is also good for the company”. Alma considers that the measure should be accompanied by the delivery of menstrual education in schools, so that there is more training on these situations.
Entrepreneurs: A measure that arouses misgivings
The professor of Labor Law and Social Security at the University of Valencia, Adrian Todoli, considers it important to take advantage of the debate raised as a result of the menstrual leave to remember that workers have the right to both rest and medical leave. “There is incapacitating pain and that is decided by a doctor. It’s enough to think that pain is something very natural & rdquor ;, she remembers.
With a degree in Economics and a doctorate in Law, Todolí adds, however, that the current regulations already contemplate three days (unpaid) absence from work when a worker is ill and cannot go to his position. However, this expert admits that the new figure planned by the Government may generate misgivings in the business world.
Economists: Who Pays?
While, gina arancollaborating professor of Economics and Business Studies at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), shows completely partisan of future sick leave for women who are in so much pain that they are unable to work. An expert in leadership and human resources and head of the Ingium consultancy, Aran recalls that women have not chosen to have their period, a regular and natural biological condition that allows them to father children and the world to continue to exist. If we don’t have offspring?who will pay the pensions? who is going to be a consumer? Women are protecting the future. They should thank us and applaud us & rdquor ;, she stresses.
Menstrual leave is, in the opinion of the teacher and businesswoman, a measure that protects women and normalizes fatherhood and motherhood. But -he adds-, it has a B side: the fact that the workers spend to be marked, more than they already are. “We have to break that retrograde mentality & rdquor ;, concludes the expert. On who pays it Aran considered (before it was known that the State was going to assume 100% of the leave) that the permit could be paid between “company and State. I do not see it unreasonable that the company also participates & rdquor ;. “Not women, of course,” the expert concluded after reminding her business colleagues that there are many very valid women and very lazy men who stay at home because of a pain of nothing.