Work is actively underway to make paternity leave a legal entitlement for male civil servants in Antigua and Barbuda.
Crown Counsel Zachary Phillips from the Attorney General’s office said the Cabinet decision to move the process forward has reached the AG’s office for implementation soon.
“Working in the Attorney General’s chambers, I can say I’ve gotten the go-ahead from the AG to say that we have received a cabinet decision that says that the paternity leave question will be legislated and regulated soonest.”
Although not yet law, the policy would formalize support already offered by some private sector employers who voluntarily grant paternity leave.
Phillips explained that the drafting department is currently working on finalizing the legal framework and determining what would be considered a fair amount of leave time for fathers.
“The drafting department is the specific part of the AG’s office who will be dealing with this issue. So they’re the ones who will make sure that we find that common middle ground so as not have too much naysayers or too much abusers.”
He was joined on the panel by fellow attorneys Jarid Hewlett and Ronard Moore, and Jamie Saunders, Executive Director of the Directorate of Gender Affairs. Together, they emphasized the social value of paternity leave and its role in promoting gender equity and family cohesion.
Moore pushed back on fears that some men might abuse the system, suggesting that such concerns shouldn’t prevent the policy from moving forward.
“I think anytime you have anybody who’s dealing with a new change, a difficult decision, where we go to extremes in order to justify change or not change is never the answer. Because the opposite of the extreme saying that, oh, men will abuse this, there may be men who have three or more children in the same year, then again, what about those men who are doting on their wives, doting on the mothers of their children? They also will not be able to benefit if there is no change,” he said.
Meanwhile Saunders stressed the need for equity when considering the length of time men should be given to help care for their new born. “So even if it is that we’re saying men don’t deserve three months, five, six days could never be the answer as well.”
Meanwhile, Hewlett who received informal paternity leave while working in the private sector described the absence of a national standard as long overdue. “Paternity leave is a necessary element of fostering that sort of mindset where that child rearing is not just about motherhood,’ he said. “It’s about fathers as well … and it’s a shame that it’s taken so long to even be in the national discourse.”
This new policy will require paternity leave provisions to be included in all labour agreements for male government workers. Currently, paternity leave is not mandated by law in Antigua and Barbuda, though the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union (ABWU) has been successful in advocating for its implementation for several of their union members.
