Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/546399
14 IT seems a long time ago today, but it was only in 2006 that a bill- board campaign (organised by the Church, at the time) urged women that their 'natural vocation' was to be mothers, and opposed a govern- ment campaign to increase female participation in the labour force. Times have certainly changed since then. In the past decade alone, the percentage of working women in Malta shot up from 32% to 52%. And with both main par- ties committed to increasing that percentage further still, incentives and schemes aimed at facilitating the balance between parenthood and employment have followed thick and fast. The latest of these concerns a 'Maternity Leave Trust Fund', first proposed in the Labour Party electoral manifesto for 2013, to be topped up by all employers (re- gardless of whether any of their workforce actually goes out on maternity leave or not). Though broadly welcomed by womens' rights associations, the suggestion initially didn't go down too well with Maltese employers. "It is true the actual payment is going to be issued by the govern- ment, but what is conveniently being left out is we as employers will be paying for it through higher national insurance payments," Joe Farrugia, director of the Malta Em- ployers Association, said in 2014. Similar objections were raised by the Small Businesses Chamber (GRTU). But now that the fund has been launched, some of its former crit- ics have softened their tone. The MEA cautiously welcomed the launch. "Women will be encour- aged to join the labour market because this measure will lead to a level playing field between female and male applicants," Farrugia said this week… though he added that there was still a "negative aspect", as employers "still have to pay for maternity leave, even if indirectly". GRTU, on the other hand, has stuck to its guns. "Maternity leave leads many small businesses to go through increased pressure hav- ing to make up for less human resources while still carrying the same wage cost... The new system will definitely aggravate the situa- tion and for the GRTU it is unac- ceptable to ask more from busi- nesses." Clearly, opinion is divided among Malta's business community. And all the scepticism expressed so far ultimately boils down to the same concern: while agreeing on pa- per with the aims of the initiative, there is disagreement regarding the all-important question of who gets to foot the bill. But to what extent does the in- troduction of a maternity leave fund change the state of play for Maltese employers? And how does Interview By Raphael Vassallo maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 JULY 2015 'Overdue birth' for maternity I think that, rather than increasing female participation in the labour force, we need to increase the birth-rate BIRTH-RATE