This year, Christmas is preceded by the General Elections that will be held in Spain on December 20. As parents, or future parents, we are interested in knowing what are the proposals of the main parties regarding family and family conciliation.
What plans do they have regarding birth promotion, family assistance, maternity and paternity leave, and other matters that matter to parents. To do this, we have analyzed the electoral programs of the PP, PSOE, Citizens and We can to be able to make a more informed decision when going to the polls.
PP and families
On its campaign website we can find the PP's full electoral program. We have focused on the family proposals section under the slogan 'The family, the center of society'. There are a total of 30 proposals divided into four sections, among which are:
Tax incentives for families
They don't talk about concrete aids but they announce that a Tax incentive plan for families, for which an information system will be developed that groups together the aid that families receive from the different public administrations.
Special large family from the fourth child
They ensure that vulnerable families such as large families, single parents, at risk of social exclusion, with dependents or who suffer from family violence will continue to be a priority objective
They promise to grant the status of Large Family of Special Category from the fourth child. Now it is from the fifth.
Families and diseases
They engage with families with children with rare diseases by announcing that they will create a resource map that allows them to know the different specialists and centers. They also undertake to analyze new support formulas for families with cancer or another serious illness.
Maternity
It will launch a Maternity Support Plan with five lines of action: prevention, help during pregnancy, postpartum support, follow-up during maternity and policies that facilitate access and reintegration into the labor market.
In the face of the problem of teenage pregnancies, they announce financial support for young mothers and / or in a situation of social exclusion, which can reach up to 2,000 euros, as well as priority access to childcare centers so that teenage mothers can continue with their studies.
It will create a Information Portal that unifies all existing resources for maternity protection and that will contain all state, regional and local support for maternity support. Likewise, support groups for mothers will be encouraged.
Childbirth, birth and adoption
As for the quality of delivery care, they promise improve the Normal Delivery Care Strategies and Reproductive Health and Health Promotion and Prevention in the National Health System, promoting quality of care and supporting breastfeeding.
For parents who need assisted reproduction treatments, they promise to expand the Common Services Portfolio of the National Health System.
It will also launch a 'National Birth Promotion Strategy', although they do not specify what it would be specifically, only that "We will continue working to promote birth, support child care and improve family and work reconciliation."
They announce the speeding up of adoption and foster care procedures, and encourage national adoption.
Family conciliation
How do you intend to solve the great reconciliation problems that families experience today? Announce the creation of a Comprehensive Plan for the Reconciliation of family, work and personal life of women and men, with the creation of a Conciliation and Stewardship Law, to review the 1999 regulation.
On maternity leave they do not announce any extension, except in the case of large families, for which they promise extend the duration of the leave of absence for child care, but also does not specify how much time.
They talk about a change in the uses of time that will stimulate rationalization of schedules, to reconcile work and family life, as well as measures that facilitate fathers and mothers a greater involvement in the education of children.
Will boost policies aimed at facilitating family and work reconciliation such as telecommuting, flexibility models and company nurseries.
Child protection
Measures regarding the protection of minors are based on the creation of a Comprehensive Organic Law on violence against children that includes prevention, detection, protection and sanction provisions.
Residential resources for the protection of children and adolescents will be reinforced, and programs aimed at the eradication of child poverty will be consolidated, in addition to guaranteeing the protection of children from evictions and evictions.
PSOE and families
For its part, the PSOE Program undertakes in the form of a slogan to "offer answers to the needs of all families". It guarantees the promotion of measures to improve the reconciliation of work, family and personal life. This at a general level, with specific proposals such as:
New Family Law
A Family Law will be created that will include all family models (regardless of circumstances such as marital status, sexual orientation or the origin of filiation), with the aim of guaranteeing equal opportunities and access to public goods and services, contributing to the redistribution of income and wealth of families.
Family conciliation
In general, the PSOE proposes develop public services with equity criteria aimed at: breaking the cycle of disadvantages of origin in children; provide a system of care for adults, so that reconciliation is favored for men and women and birth is facilitated.
They advocate maternity and paternity leave of adequate duration, the equalization of both permits in a progressive manner, work leave with reserve of the job, provision of schedules sensitive to the needs of mothers and fathers, establish an adequate policy of rationalization of schedules both in public administration and in private companies, as well as promoting extracurricular activities in both non-school and holiday periods.
They also consider the right to time at work and the day as a worker's right and an efficient way to improve production, as well as a guarantee for conciliation. Excessive hours in companies will be limited and controlled in an exhaustive manner to increase hiring and improve work and family reconciliation.
Maternity and paternity leave
The PSOE proposes to apply the 4 weeks provided in the Law on Equality of paternity leave in a mandatory and non-transferable manner and progressively extend the duration of it until it coincides with the maternity leave.
Similarly, it promises to introduce criteria of flexibility in the enjoyment of these permits, adapting it to the needs of the family.
Aid for dependent children
At this point they promise increase the coverage of the benefit per dependent child and increase in the amount, in a phased manner, depending on family income. It will only be linked to household income regardless of the parents' employment status.
In that sense, they intend to extend the coverage and amounts of the non-contributory Social Security benefit per dependent child to all families below the poverty line, included in the Minimum Vital Income.
All women job seekers who have a child and are not entitled to the maternity tax benefit will enjoy a 6-week non-contributory benefit.
Citizens and families
For its part, the party led by Albert Rivera, presents its electoral program, which can be found on its website in a summary, divided into 17 sections, and also in extended version. Among them, we have focused on the one that summarizes the proposals on equality and conciliation policies, but we will also comment on other interesting points.
National Pact for the rationalization of schedules and labor conciliation
It advocates a more compact and flexible working day that, together with the adoption of labor flexibility measures, allows for a better reconciliation of the time devoted to work and that destined for family or personal use.
Encourage the adaptation of the child care offer with a cooperation program with the Autonomous Communities so that they can adjust the opening hours of the educational centers to the working hours of the parents, expanding their offers and extending extracurricular activities.
Nurseries in companies
Promote incentives for companies that have facility to offer childcare services in the same company, and for small businesses, provide incentives with nearby childcare centers.
Maternity and paternity leave
The paternity leave will be equalized to the maternity leave, to take her to a total of 26 weeks: 8 reserved for each parent, non-transferable; and the remaining 10 shared.
Help for families
Coordination mechanisms will be established to equate aid to large, single-parent families with functional diversity, especially where the worker works and has no place to leave their children.
Within the framework of the Salary Supplement that C's has proposed, a additional tax credit for each child between 0 and 3 years old, for daycare centers. Encourage companies to offer these services at headquarters, or to reach agreements with early education centers.
Surrogacy and childbirth
They want regulate surrogacy (so far illegal in our country) through a gestation contract that contemplates the express consent of the parties involved and with full legal guarantees. If such a contract includes financial compensation, it must be of an amount that fits the reasonable cats of the process.
As for childbirth care, they do not extend further, but ensure that the implementation of the Normal Delivery Care Strategy will be promoted in all hospitals.
Child protection
It will increase investment in childhood to reach 2.2% of GDP as established by the objective of the European 2020 strategy.
We can and families
Finally, we enter the electoral program of Podemos to discover what are the measures they plan to implement in order to facilitate the lives of parents with young children.
Support for young parents
They will set in motion measures that ensure that the care of their sons and daughters is compatible with their professional career and with the beginning and continuation of his studies.
Aid to promote the hiring of mothers and young fathers, to favor the flexibility of work hours both in the educational centers, to enable nursery schools, dependent on the public network, in universities and vocational training centers.
Paternity and maternity leave
They propose to increase the current paternity leave to match that of maternity leave (16 weeks) in case of birth or adoption, paid 100% of salary and with equal protection of the job during the exercise of maternity and paternity rights.
Single parent families
They will increase the amount of Social Security benefit per dependent son or daughter, up to 150 euros per month, in the case of single parents.
A non-contributory maternity benefit will be created for mothers without resources who are active in demand for employment and the protection of children will be guaranteed against evictions and evictions.
Priority will be given in the allocation of place in early childhood education from 0 to 3 years.
Labor flexibility
Promote mechanisms of internal flexibility through the reduction of working hours. To favor the flexible hour, as well as the priority in the election of schedules of the fathers and the young mothers.
Pregnancy, delivery and postpartum care
They will promote (in the health system) a maternity treatment that respects and accepts the needs and decisions of women, through the following measures:
Enhance the freedom of decision on the medical treatments of pregnancy and childbirth, and reinforce practices that promote the prominence and responsible decision-making power of women during pregnancy and the puerperium. Reduce the number of caesarean sections and induced births. Facilitate and guarantee the exercise of breastfeeding and other care tasks beyond four months of leave. Offer facilities to women who want prolonged breastfeeding.
Child protection
Will develop a State Pact for Children that protects the rights of children and adolescents to guarantee equal opportunities for girls, boys and adolescents and reduce child poverty.
They promise a guaranteed income with upward revision based on the children present in the family unit.
