The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes the Constitutional Courts’ progressive judgement affirming the need to afford greater choice and equality with regards to maternity and parental leave to parents of newborn children.  The Constitutional Court has correctly directed Parliament to amend the Basic Conditions of Employment and the Unemployment Insurance Acts to provide equal cover to parents under the laws’ maternity and parental leave provisions.

This bold ruling by the Constitutional Court endorses COSATU’s long standing call for greater equality and responsibility for parents as well as more flexible choices for them based upon the individual family’s needs and circumstances.  It follows in the steps of advances by workers in Sweden, Denmark and other pacesetting labour market regimes.

COSATU looks forward to urgent engagements that will need to take place at Nedlac with the Department of Employment and Labour to effect the necessary legislative amendments.  Much thought needs to be given to ensure equality of cover and responsibilities between both parents on the one hand whilst simultaneously recognising the need to provide for dedicated time within the leave provisions for mothers to physically and emotionally recover from pregnancy and birth.

Consideration will need to be given to ensure parents are able to receive the maximum financial relief whilst allowing them space to decide upon the allocation of leave that makes the most sense based upon the individual family’s needs and circumstances.

The Federation is pleased by this historic judgement that will be a further milestone in the struggle for decent work and equality.  This is a welcome validation of COSATU’s campaigns and the need for workers to unionise.

Issued by COSATU

Matthew Parks (COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator)

Mobile: 082 785 0687

Email: matthew@cosatu.org.za