Two of UK’s labour Unions, have criticized the government for deducting some amount from striking pregnant workers.
The unions have called on the government to re-evaluate the “immoral” way of depriving expectant workers of a certain amount of their maternity pay, if they’re involved in a labour dispute.
To settle the problem, Unite and Unison, have admonished the government to amend their pay structures and exclude strike days from maternity pay computations, in order to avoid punishing expectant workers for joining labour actions.
Currently, statutory maternity pay and some contractual maternity pay are calculated by taking the employee’s average wages from the eighth and the fifteenth week prior to their due date.
This average is affected by any days lost due to strikes, jury duty, or illness, which can result in parents having to fend for extra expenses during maternity leave.
“It is totally immoral to penalise pregnant women who stand up for decent pay against greedy employers by cutting their maternity pay.
“The current rules on this are a disgrace and amount to yet another attempt to undermine the right to strike. I can assure you that Unite will not allow our members to be attacked in this way.”
Unite’s General Secretary, Sharon Graham.
According to the General Secretary of Unison, Christina McAnea, to make their grievances head, they exhausted every option available, but achieved nothing. However, strike actions remained their last resort, and also their “basic human right.”
“Pregnant workers and new mothers already struggle with spiraling costs, workplace discrimination and threats to their jobs. They shouldn’t face a financial penalty for exercising their rights. This loophole has to be closed.”
General Secretary of Unison, Christina McAnea.
Additionally, Joeli Brearley, the President of a maternity rights group, ‘Pregnant Then Screwed,’ argued that, it is “unfair and potentially discriminatory,” because pregnant employees would have to face tougher repercussions for exercising their right to strike.
“The law needs to change to ensure that in exceptional circumstances pregnant workers still meet the qualifying threshold for maternity allowance, statutory maternity pay and occupational maternity pay despite a decrease in earnings.
“Exceptional circumstances should include industrial action, jury service, a business going bust, redundancies and furlough pay.”
Joeli Brearley, President of ‘Pregnant Then Screwed.
According to a University administrator, she felt conflicted when she came to the realization that, her maternity pay would suffer some deductions, as a result of her voting in favor of the strike action. The woman claimed that, she was persuaded by her union leaders to continue working, in order to escape the deductions.
“I decided not to strike because maternity pay is shit enough as it is without strike action bringing it down any lower,” she said.
“Obviously it’s really frowned upon, crossing the picket line to work when you’re in the union, especially because I voted for strike action as well, which was a big thing for me. I said yes to something I believe in, I think it’s really important that we strike.”
University Administrator.
Not all, Jonathan Pryor, the deputy leader of Leeds City Council, is said to have written to the government in July, to take a look at the law and make the necessary modifications.
In a response, Lord Younger, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for maternity benefits, claimed that, the government had no plans of amending the law.
According to Younger, the government acknowledged that, there are variety of ways that maternity pay could be impacted during the eight-week period.
“These include taking a temporary wage reduction, taking time away from work due to illness or being on strike.
“We believe, however, that the current calculation balances the need to achieve a representative reflection of a woman’s earnings in a way that is consistent for all, whilst ensuring a straightforward calculation for employers.”
Lord Younger, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Maternity Benefits
