In September, so-called family-friendly legislation is due to come into force, which will grant a maximum of 18 weeks’ statutory maternity leave, two weeks of which would be at full pay.
However, in the third day of debate on the Strategic Plan, a document which sets States policy, Members voted against an amendment by Deputy Geoff Southern to significantly increase statutory maternity leave to 26 weeks during the next three years. The amendment was rejected by 28 votes to 16.
The overall Strategic Plan was later adopted by 41 votes to four. Senator Zoe Cameron and Deputies Southern, Sam Mézec and Mike Higgins voted against the plan.
The Council of Ministers, which did not accept the amendment to the Plan, said they are instead committed to the 1,001 Days Strategy, which focuses on providing help and support from before a baby is born until the child is aged two, as early intervention is seen as crucial in a youngster’s development.
Deputy Southern questioned how committed the Council of Ministers were to the strategy and said that his amendment would make that commitment ‘real’.
He said: ‘This fits in with the Council of Ministers strategic planning. I am proposing that that commitment to 1,001 days is made real.
‘Maternity leave is about the health and well-being of both the baby and the mother.’
Meanwhile, Deputy John Le Fondré questioned whether the States could afford to support the proposals at this time given the predicted structural shortfall announced last week.
Deputy Southern’s amendment also called for free nursery care, which is available to parents in the school year when their child turns four, to be increased from 20 hours a week to 30.
Deputies Southern, Higgins, Mézec, Simon Brée, Andrew Lewis, Judy Martin, Carolyn Labey, Jeremy Maçon, Louise Doublet, Jackie Hilton, Russell Labey, Terry McDonald, Senator Cameron and Constables Simon Crowcroft, Sadie Rennard and Philip Le Sueur voted in favour of the amendment.
Meanwhile, after a three-day debate, the Assembly agreed to adopt the amended Strategic Plan. Among the adopted amendments were proposals for greater emphasis on green policies and a commitment to make the States pay rates on public buildings.
The plan aims to make improvements in the areas of health, education, economic growth and St Helier.
Chief Minister Ian Gorst said: ‘This plan encapsulates the areas that we think need the most attention over the next three years.
‘It is not going to be easy, and I accept that, but this is a plan for Jersey.’
For:
Senators Zoe Cameron and Paul Routier, Constables Simon Crowcroft, Sadie Rennard and Philip Le Sueur, Deputies Judy Martin, Geoff Southern, Carolyn Labey, Jacqui Hilton, Mike Higgins, Jeremy Maçon, Sam Mezec, Andrew Lewis, Louise Doublet, Russell Labey , Simon Bree and Terry McDonald.
Against:
TIME spent with babies in the first weeks of their lives has major benefits – not only for the children and their parents but also for society in general, according to the Jersey Childcare Trust.
The head of the trust, Fiona Vacher, welcomed Jersey’s impending maternity law, which will bring the Island closer in line with the rest of Europe.
Currently, new parents have no right to take time off prior to or following the birth of a baby, and many have to take precious weeks out of their annual leave entitlement to spend time with their new arrival.
The head of the Jersey Childcare Trust, which has been campaigning for several years for maternity leave and pay for Islanders to be introduced, welcomed the proposals and described them as a ‘brilliant step forward’.
Mrs Vacher, executive director of the charity, said: ‘It will mean parents will get time to bond with their child and it is absolutely vital they are able to do this. As things stand people are not entitled to any time off, and some people get nothing at all. They instead have to take annual leave for two weeks and that is not acceptable.
‘It is not the norm in Jersey but some nurseries here have taken children from six weeks old. Nurseries have told us in the last year they have had a lot of children between nine and 12 months old.
‘Many employers do give their staff some kind of maternity leave, but obviously we find that some people are not getting any.
‘Having this legislation will safeguard them to take time off with their baby.
Mrs Vacher said that the implications of not being able to form a bond with their parents in the first two weeks of life had a major effect on a child’s development and stretched into adulthood. She said: ‘This costs us all dearly. It can have an impact on a child in terms of their wellbeing and their life chances when they become adults, for example whether they are employed or whether they commit crimes.’
