Additional paid sick days for women with severe menstrual problems – the left-wing Spanish government is expected to pass such a regulation today. It would be a first in Europe. But the rule is controversial.
Working despite severe abdominal pain during the monthly menstrual period – women in Spain should be freed from this torture in the future. This is provided for in a draft law by the left-wing government, which is to be officially presented in the cabinet on Tuesday. Accordingly, Spaniards should be given the right to stay at home in such cases.
The state should bear the costs of the loss of work for as long as the pain persists, as the ministry confirmed on request. In order to be released from work, an affected woman must consult a doctor. Spain would be the first country in Europe with such a law. According to Spanish media, the draft law provides for three additional sick days per month with continued payment of wages in the event of menstrual problems. In the case of particularly severe complaints, this quota can be extended to five days per month by submitting a medical certificate.
The initiative was pushed by Equal Opportunities Minister Irene Montero from smaller left-alternative coalition partner Unidas Podemos. “We will recognize in the law the special right of women who have a painful period to sit out (at work),” Equality Minister Montero of the left-wing Podemos party wrote on Twitter.
The draft is to be introduced as part of a new regulation of abortion law. In the future, it will allow women over the age of 16 to have an abortion without the consent of their parents. There were reservations about the bill from the ranks of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s socialist PSOE party.
Nadia Calviño’s Ministry of Economic Affairs warned that the regulation could disadvantage women in the competition for jobs. The government will never take any action that could “stigmatize women,” Calviño stressed.
Extra sick days for women with severe menstrual problems are only available in a few countries outside of Europe, including South Korea and Indonesia.
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