On November 19, the Government, through its Minister of Health, Social Services and Equality, Ana Mato, confirmed what already, after several postponements, many assumed and is that it is ruled out to extend the paternity leave from the current two weeks to four, due to the cost of said measure.
According to the minister, today it is not possible to bear the cost of 245 million of euros that this measure would entail.
The money must be allocated "to the most urgent" as raising pensions, creating employment and guarantee basic services such as education and health. The minister affirmed.
According to the deputy of CiU, the expense of this measure, which represents 0.057% of the state budget It could be financed from the unassigned allowance during 2013 of maternity and paternity leave.
Empty promises when reconciling
It is very shocking that in a country with a birth rate under historical lows, the measures for work and family reconciliation continue to be of laughter and become part of the queue of national priorities.
Once again we are faced with the inability of our politicians to see beyond the election year and we continue without realizing that while other countries in our environment have taken measures to solve birth problems, here we remain concerned about painting the tractor while we are burn the field And I wonder, how much will it cost to maintain this country when the aging population reaches the point of no return? I suppose they will answer that if that will be done by those in 2030.
The words of our rulers may have little value when they talk about equality at work if there is still such a difference in days between each other. It is logical that entrepreneurs continue to discriminate against women of childbearing age against men, if the latter will be able to enjoy a mini-vacation when they are parents.
The enemy at home
To the little desire of the government in spending the money in something that does not result in a short-term business benefit, the few desires of a large part of the male group are united. And although there is a strong current of change in this regard, the idea that raising children is a thing of her is still widespread. That ours is work and children are women's things.
A much needed measure
Fortunately, I repeat, things are changing and little by little, more and more men are rising to claim their right to participate in the raising of their children. For this reason, measures like this are important to be carried out as soon as possible. We are not like mothers, we have not taken our son in nine months, we have not had that time of "adaptation" to that new situation that is to be a father. And in most cases 15 days does not even give to begin to know.
Nor are four weeks, but at least it's a start. It is a precious time to get to know us, to get rid of that inner fear that comes to you the first time you have your son in your arms, that moment when you don't know who you are now, in which a feeling that you have never had before overwhelms, the feeling of "being a father" that sometimes costs so much to digest.
We need those four weeks to create the foundation, the basis of our new family, our future. We need to live motherhood next to our partner and not the other side of the phone line. Just as we need the holidays to charge batteries to start over, we need that time with our family to become parents, to go from being two to being three.
Madam Minister, this is not an expense of a few hundred million, it is a future investment of hundreds of billions, it is an investment in the future of the country, in our foundations, it is a giant step towards an equal future.
It should be borne in mind that this promise has been present in the electoral bulletins of various parties long before the start of the crisis, without any of them having done anything to carry it out. I guess we will meet again for this 2015.
On them and we depend.
