Nice to meet you, mom!
An interesting article about maternity leave published on USA Today a year ago. While mom thinks that this is a great country to live and work (and find the love of her life!!), one of the things she misses the most about her home country is labor laws like the sixteen-week, paid maternity leave and 30 days mandatory vacation a year. In an article comparing benefits between Brazil and Mexico you see some of it:
Source found here.
In the USA Today article the US is listed in the not so good company of Swaziland, Lesotho and Papua New-Guinea when it comes to the draconian maternity leave laws. It makes it seem even more unfair that, besides the pressure to be a good professional, wife, citizen, you are also asked to hand your two-month old for others to care for during the work day. While mom knows that "all's well then ends well", she's secretly afraid that her tot will end up more attached to someone else other than her.
Both countries provide significant benefits to employees and provide them with some type of annual bonus plus the vacation bonus equal to a percentage of the monthly salary. Brazilian law calls for a 13th month salary to be paid at the end of the year, plus the vacation bonus equal to 33.3% of the monthly salary. Mexico, on the other hand, provides for vacation bonuses (25% more during the vacation period), for profit sharing (10% of after-tax profit to go to all employees but the Director General) and a Christmas bonus equal to at least 15 days of salary, which shall be paid before December 20. Both countries provide for generous maternity and, in the case of Brazil, paternity benefits (5 days for the father). In both countries you cannot be fired or downsized during a maternity leave.
Source found here.
In the USA Today article the US is listed in the not so good company of Swaziland, Lesotho and Papua New-Guinea when it comes to the draconian maternity leave laws. It makes it seem even more unfair that, besides the pressure to be a good professional, wife, citizen, you are also asked to hand your two-month old for others to care for during the work day. While mom knows that "all's well then ends well", she's secretly afraid that her tot will end up more attached to someone else other than her.
posted by Suzana Stucka at
16:10
2 Comments:
In the meantime, there's a little "baby-boom" here in Norway, due to the extremely generous paternity leave regulations!
""I'm entitled to 12 months off work with 80% pay, or 10 months with full pay. My husband is entitled to take almost all of that leave instead of me, and he must take at least four weeks out."
By
Anonymous, at 15/8/06 04:11
Well there is always the option of the stay-at-home-daddy, aka "Mr. Mom".
However that usually ends with Dad uttering through clenched teeth, "That's it! I'm going to get a job in a steel mill or a coal mine or crab fishing in Alaska. You, my darling wife, can stay home with our lovely angel."
By
Anonymous, at 15/8/06 17:18
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