Pregnant self-employed women often have to work until shortly before delivery and even shortly afterward. This is a major problem, not only in physically demanding jobs, but especially in those (symbolic photo). (Photo: © levstudio/123RF.com)
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Women in Crafts - Special Features
June 2023
All parliamentary groups in the Bundestag's Petitions Committee voted to forward the petition "Maternity Protection for Self-Employed Pregnant Women" to the federal government for consideration. This is the highest vote.
Employees and self-employed pregnant women should be treated equally regarding maternity protection. The Petitions Committee of the German Bundestag endorsed a petition from the association "Maternity Protection for All!" on June 24, 2023. Members of parliament from all parties unanimously voted to forward the petition "Equal Rights in Maternity Protection for Self-Employed Pregnant Women of May 6, 2022" to the Federal Government for consideration.
"This is the highest vote ever achieved in a petition process," says master carpenter Johanna Röh with delight . She initiated the issue and the petition during her pregnancy with her daughter in early 2022 and is the spokesperson for the association's board.
Read more about Johanna Röh's concerns here.
"After it has been voted on in the Petitions Committee, the petition formally goes to the plenary session of the Bundestag. It is then called up at a session of the Bundestag and voted on by the Bundestag members present," explains master carpenter Johanna Röh on Instagram.
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"Due to the unity with which the parties support our cause, there will even be a speech in the Bundestag on maternity protection for the self-employed ," Röh continued. This is expected to take place in mid-June.
"Afterwards, the President of the Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, will forward our petition and the recommendation of the Petitions Committee directly to the Federal Chancellor, Olaf Scholz ." The entrepreneur reports that the Federal Government has six weeks after the vote in the Bundestag to announce what it will do regarding maternity protection for the self-employed.
The petition, which was already discussed in a public meeting of the Petitions Committee on October 26, 2022 , states, among other things, that pregnancy should not pose an existential threat to self-employed people or lead to inequality of opportunity in the labor market.
"Especially for female founders, female bosses, those working in investment-intensive industries, and for the self-employed in physically demanding professions, instruments must be created to prevent pregnancy-related business closures. For this reason, the European regulations on maternity protection for self-employed women must be implemented in Germany."
Family life and professional self-development must be made possible regardless of gender. Johanna Röh and her fellow campaigners demand that sick pay be paid from the first day of sick leave due to pregnancy-related complications.
Furthermore, there should be no deductions from sick pay, it is argued. Sick pay must be calculated based on the amounts paid and not on the basis of lost earnings. In addition, Johanna Röh believes that pregnant self-employed women should enjoy fully paid maternity leave . The maximum amount currently granted to pregnant self-employed women, which is also offset against sick pay, is completely inadequate given their ongoing private and business expenses.
Johanna Röh is advocating for extending compensation payments for expectant mothers to pregnant self-employed women in professions where the employment ban for salaried employees applies due to the job description. The petition calls for the establishment of a system of farm relief workers, modeled on the agricultural system, to provide unbureaucratic and free assistance to businesses where the pregnant business owner's labor is lacking.
" Strengthening an entrepreneurial culture is of paramount importance to the Petitions Committee ," reads the justification for the recommendation. The members of parliament are aware of the sometimes considerable difficulties, impressively outlined in the petition, that self-employed women in particular encounter when trying to reconcile self-employment, pregnancy, and family life. A healthy entrepreneurial culture necessarily requires that self-employment, pregnancy, and equal participation in the care and support of one's own children are not mutually exclusive.
The proposal states that this is also a question of social and economic equality for women . Furthermore, self-employed mothers send an important signal to girls and women to consider self-employment themselves.
The current legal framework only "to a limited extent" meets the identified requirements for a modern startup culture that takes into account the needs of women who choose to have children, the members of parliament concluded. Therefore, a comprehensive review of the legal framework is necessary.
Source: hib; "Maternity Protection for All"
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