Labour's Ramona Attard joins calls for discussion on longer maternity leave

Labour MP Ramona Attard has called for a discussion on whether to increase maternity leave amid concerns over Malta's low fertility rate. 

The backbencher, who sits on parliament's health committee, pointed out that the leave given to new mothers is well below the EU average.  

“Now is the time to think about the next steps. Like talking about whether there should be a longer leave duration for parents after having a new child, and a true work life balance”, she said. 

In Malta, new mothers are entitled to 18 weeks of maternity leave, which are fully paid to the 14th week, and then remunerated at a lower rate for the last four weeks.

Since 2022, fathers are granted 10 days (up from one day) of paid paternity leave but the take up is low. 

MP Rosianne Cutajar has previously proposed that the government should pay mothers to raise their children for at least a year, provided they return to work afterwards.

And the PN has proposed families should receive a full year of paid leave, between maternity and parental leave, to support parents struggling to balance work and family obligations.

Attard's comments come after Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said Malta’s rock-bottom fertility rate is “the greatest challenge of our time”.

Caruana said figures show 60 per cent of families who have a child never go on to have a second.

“Where will our population be in 50 years’ time?” Caruana asked in a recent speech. “Will we be at a point of no return?”

Echoing him, Attard in a video message said that Malta needs to find an answer to its low fertility rate.

“But numbers alone will not encourage the Maltese to have more children,” she said.

Attard said people often bring up how maternity leave is too little and that there can be better work-life balance measures.

A 2024 study by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality analysed how work-life balance issues impact perceptions and attitudes towards fertility intentions.

Eighty-three per cent of female respondents said that 18 weeks’ maternity leave was inadequate and advocated extensions of varying lengths of up to 12 months. Half said extended maternity leave should be fully paid.

The study also reveals a strong call for increased paternity leave, extended parental leave and specific leave for parents when children are sick.

EU rules set a minimum of 14 weeks of maternity leave; however, the majority of countries go beyond that.

Currently, the average length of maternity leave in the 27 EU member states is 23.5 weeks, a study published in The Open Public Health Journal earlier this year says. 

Bulgaria has the longest maternity leave in the EU at 410 days. In Sweden, parents can share a total of 480 days of leave, of which 90 days must be taken by the mother and 90 days by the father.