The Tribune

THERE are many laws in The Bahamas that need to be reformed for various reasons. Over the past few years, I have specifically focused on gender inequality in the law and laws that have the effect of perpetuating and sustaining gender stereotypes. One law that does not often get attention is the Employment Act. In particular, we need to pay attention to leave allowances and the impact that they have on the lives of individuals and dynamics in the family, workplace, and community.

In the Employment Act, Sections 17 and 18 on maternity leave allows for 12 weeks of maternity leave with pay. To qualify, the woman must have been employed by the same employer for at least 12 months, and she is only entitled to maternity pay once every three years. Additional leave of up to six weeks, unpaid, is granted if there is “any illness arising out of such confinement”.

There is one week of unpaid family leave, as long as the employee was employed for at least six months, following the birth of a child or the death or illness of a child, spouse, or parent. No provisions are made for people to have leave, paid or unpaid, following adoption or becoming legal guardians.

It is important for us to know the law and use it to access our rights. It is also important for us to recognise when the law does not work as well as it could for us. In many cases, other people and organisations recognise gaps and problems, and there are often standards and models set that we can use.

In fact, The Bahamas has signed on to various conventions, acknowledging that the State can do a better job of taking care of the people within their jurisdictions.

Unfortunately, we are not always aware of the agreements made with multilateral organisations because they are not publicised, education and training are not made available, and even those working in relevant spaces do not necessarily know where to look or what to monitor in order to keep up.

One of the organisations we need to keep in mind when it comes to the workplace and workers is the International Labour Organization. It brings governments, employers, and workers together to “set labour standards, develop policies, and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men”.

International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted C183, Maternity Protection Convention 2000, in June 2000. Article 4 states that women are entitled to “a period of maternity leave of not less than 14 weeks”. It further states that “maternity leave shall include a period of six weeks’ compulsory leave after childbirth” the Maternity Protection Recommendation of 2000 calls for no less than 18 weeks leave.

It goes further, stating that there should be a period of six weeks mandatory leave following the birth of a child. Article 10 states, “A women shall be provided with the right to one or more daily breaks or a daily reduction of hours of work to breastfeed her child”. It also states that these breaks are a part of working time and are to be remunerated.

ILO adopted R191, Maternity Protection Recommendation, 2000 in June of 2000. Article 1 states, “Members should endeavour to extend the period of maternity leave referred to in Article 4 of the Convention to at least 18 weeks.” It also calls for an extension of maternity leave in the case of multiple births.

Our laws leave much to be desired, and reform is slow to come. Awareness of international standards helps to put our laws into perspective, to see what is possible and beneficial, and to expand our rights.

At times, the private sector recognises needs and adjusts to meet them more readily than governments. This is usually not a sign of benevolence, but recognition that people drive profit, staff retention is less expensive than recruitment and training, and healthy, happy workers are more likely to be productive than those who are not. Multinational companies are usually the first to respond to available data and drive change.

In January 2022, Scotiabank announced the implementation of its new global standard for parental leave, expected to be completely rolled out by 2025. It includes eight weeks of paid leave for adoptive parents welcoming a new child and an additional eight weeks for those who give birth.

As of April 1, family benefits increased for employees in Canada to include, for example, fertility treatment. Eligible employees in Canada, and their dependents, will also have $10,000 — an increase from $3,000 — in mental wellbeing services, including clinical counseling and online therapy. This increase comes after employees indicated they were approaching the previous limit, proving the need for more support. They also have round-the-clock access to healthcare providers. Managers in Canada are also able to participate in mental health workshops to gain skills to help them support employees.

In The Bahamas, the Parental Leave Policy at Scotiabank was implemented in March 2022, including birth, adoption, and legal guardianship. Maternity leave is now 16 weeks, and father, adoptive parents, and legal guardians have four weeks of paid leave. It is also being implemented in Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and Cayman Islands this year. Human resources director Nadia Stubbs said this is a demonstration of Scotiabank’s “core commitment to a culture of diversity and inclusion”.

Patricia Adams, acting managing director in Turks & Caicos, said Scotiabank is leading in “progressive and inclusive employee-centric policies” in the country. She noted that there is data available on the benefits of paid parental leave for individuals, communities, and companies.

Longer maternity leave is beneficial for mothers and babies, and parental leave is beneficial for families. It is important that, when there is more than one parent, all parents are able to take time off from work. Healing from childbirth takes longer than the time allotted for family leave.

This means that mothers are healing from childbirth which, in many cases, involves surgery and/or trauma while taking care of newborn and adjusting to constant changes in schedule and home dynamics.

This is not only stressful during this period, but reinforces harmful gender stereotypes including ideas about who is responsible for domestic and care work.

Paid leave for all parents is one way to support the involvement of men in caring for and raising of children. It is a way to encourage people to make the decision to share care and domestic work and move toward equality at home.

Corporate Bahamas needs to step up. Companies need to see the value of their employees, and understand that their lives are not divided into compartments. Every aspect of people’s lives is with them at all times, impacting their performance.

Even if businesses want to put profit over people, we are seeing evidence that the two are linked and it is not an inverse relationship.

There are some companies in The Bahamas that are offering benefits beyond the minimums set by the law. There needs to be research on these practices and the outcomes. We need to see models, and to encourage others to replicate and improve on them.

While we agitate for better laws, let’s also advocate for change in the places we spend the largest proportion of our waking hours — work.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Finding Me by Viola Davis. “I wrote this for anyone running through life untethered, desperate and clawing their way through murky memories, trying to get to some form of self-love.” Oscar nominated actress Viola Davis shares her story, from her childhood experiences of domestic violence, bullying, and poverty to trying to find the line between using financial gains of her success to support her family and enabling them. It is no ordinary rags to riches tale. Davis plainly shares her relationship with family members, her ambition and its roots, wounds and trauma that have not disappeared, and the unglamorous side of her career.

2. In the Dark. This drama series centres Murphy, a blind woman in her 20s who “works” at her parents’ nonprofit organization and lives with her supportive best friend Jess. Her only other friend is Tyson, a teenager who saved her life and hangs out with her while she smokes cigarettes in an alley. Things get complicated very quickly when she thinks Tyson has been murdered and she cannot convince the police, both because there is no body and they doubt her because she is blind and often drunk. Everyone gets caught up in Murphy’s web as she tries to solve a crime and gets herself, and quite a few of her new friends, into trouble.

3. Doing what Matters in Times of Stress, an illustrated guide, adapted version for the Caribbean by PAHO and WHO. This is a stress management guide presenting ideas that can be practised and applied over time. This resource uses plain language and can be a great tool for engaging young people in conversations about stress and how it can be managed.