Allan is an employee and a new father of a baby girl. Married for two years, he and his wife were not planning to have a baby, until it suddenly came. His boss noticed that his absences have been more frequent, with him giving excuses of being sick. He was given a written warning for absenteeism, which turned out to be not because he was sick but was of parental responsibilities he had to share with his wife like during times when they did not have a nanny. For men like Allan, juggling both roles is not easy. While Republic Act No. 8187 or the Paternity Leave Act of 1996 entitles all married males with seven days of paternity leave, a lot of fathers, who are a part of the 12.3 million or 62% of wage and salary workers in the Philippines,[1] may find it insufficient to fulfill the duties that go with being a new parent. The law stipulates that paternity benefit may be availed before, during or after delivery, as long as it will only total to seven days. The benefit can be availed only within 60 days from the date of delivery. Old school labor policies related with parenting reinforce traditional sets of gender roles, e.g., that child-rearing is a role of women and that the father is merely a financial provider for the family - that being a father is less important as being a mother. Fathers also have the right and motivation to take care of their newborn baby and participate in child-rearing activities. Contrary to traditional assumptions that fathers prefer non-caretaking roles, “evidence from cross-cultural, historical, comparative and biological sources show men’s interest and involvement with newborn infants and being nurturing as mothers in their interactions with their infants. While mothers spend more time than fathers in feeding and caretaking activities, fathers are capable of playing an active role in childcare and do not differ with that of mothers’ caretaking competence.”[2] The laws and legislation of a country reflect not only its vision but also the culture and values that it wants to promote, just like in organizations. Topping human development index charts, Scandinavian countries are known for their generous labor policies for working parents. Their family-friendly policies include parental leaves for both parents, such as the fully-paid 46 weeks or 56 weeks off paid at 80% in Norway, going beyond the 14 weeks of time off per the International Labor Organization. Moreover, ten weeks of these are exclusive for fathers to encourage their use of the benefit. And it works: 90% of Norwegian fathers are participating in the program.[3] Despite having undergone a deep financial crisis, Iceland pushed for the 3-3-3 paid leave scheme, i.e., three months for mothers, three for fathers, and three to split between the two, which in 2016 will be upgrades to 12 months. In Bulgaria, women can take one to two years of parental leave (second year at minimum salary), but its gives the flexibility of the father or even a grandparent taking it in lieu of the mother. Japan and the United Arab Emirates also have made amendments of their parental leave laws based also on statistics of their birth rate and population growth.
Of course, for these policies to work, governments also need to reach out to other stakeholders. Organizations need to be educated on the purpose and implementation of these initiatives, as among the fears of workers in participating in these programs, especially in countries where workholism is prominent, are issues that go with reincorporation in the job. In the case of the Philippines, we have a culture of hiring nannies (as is more affordable) to take care of the baby after childbirth, or having the grandparents or other members of the extended family live with the couple so that both can continue working. Aside from economic constraints, this could also be a reason for a slow insistence for generous childcare leaves in the country, although there are a lot of couples now who live on their own and find it more difficult to find help. While this practice makes it easier to be a worker and a parent, parents still need to maintain a certain amount of quality time spent with the baby. The parents themselves need to be present for the newborn - otherwise, there comes a lack of emotional attachment with the parent along with other positive outcomes. Perhaps the first step is House Bill 5544 which seeks to extend what is stipulated in Section 2 of RA 8187 to 15 paid leaves and give another 15 unpaid leaves to lengthen the time every man spends with his wife and newborn after delivery.[4] Aside from time off, new parents also need ample social support such as antenatal an postnatal education programs to develop problem-solving and stress coping mechanisms related with the birth process and baby care. A study[5] indicates that depression is a problem for both women and men in the postpartum period and while fathers have reported similar levels of stress as mothers, they have lower perceived social support. Maternal depression is also associated with paternal depression. The phenomenon of post-partum depression has serious impact for both parents and needs to be further understood. Females undergoing it need their husband’s presence and support. At the same time, ”one parent’s depression may have a serious impact on the psychological health of the other parent and of the family as a whole,” so both partners should be involved in the diagnostic and intervention process. Some fathers like Allan undergo the dilemma of keeping their full-time jobs and dealing with the responsibilities and challenges both as a husband and father for their newborns. Governments and organizations need to acknowledge this too and find ways to help this equally relevant group of the labor force. -JB
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
About the AuthorThoughts on politics, economy, education, development and policy while stuck on traffic and what not. Archives
August 2015
Categories |