Maternity protection for the self-employed: Government seeks solutions

Master carpenter Johanna Röh continues to fight tirelessly for a reform of maternity protection for the self-employed. The Bundestag's Petitions Committee has now assured her that the federal government is working on a solution to the problem.

This article is part of the special topic women in crafts

A pregnancy must not threaten one's existence. "We need a comprehensive reform of maternity protection," says Master carpenter Johanna Röh. She has with her Petition #meinewerkstattbleibt 111.794 supporters .

Self-employed pregnant women should enjoy the same statutory maternity protection as employees, according to the petition that Johanna Röh submitted in Berlin in early summer while she was still pregnant. She is now the mother of a young daughter and continues to fight tirelessly against the Maternity protection trap for self-employed people.

Johanna Röh in her workshop Photo: © Heimat Werbeagentur GmbH

During one public meeting of the Petitions Committee in the Paul-Löbe-Haus on Monday (26 September) the Parliamentary State Secretaries Ekin Deligöz (Alliance 90/The Greens; Federal Ministry for Family Affairs) and Franziska Brantner (Alliance 90/The Greens; Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy) Johanna Röh and her colleagues made it clear that the federal government is working "intensively" on a solution to the problem of the lack of maternity protection.

Working together on a solution

"We are very grateful for the broad support we are receiving from all parties for this issue. This shows us that the problem has been understood," Johanna Röh reports the morning after her visit to Berlin.

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"We also believe that for a successful and, above all, helpful change of conditions for those affected, it is important that the parties work together on a solution. That's exactly what's needed in this situation and the decisive signal for those of us affected – that this is about the issue."

Prevent pregnancy-related business closures

State Secretary for Economic Affairs Franziska Brantner reported on Monday that the issue had reached her ministry. Working group founded A working group has been set up to seek solutions with associations and those affected. Brantner invited Röh to participate. "We must find solutions, even if they are not trivial," said the State Secretary.

The aim of the petition is that a Pregnancy is not a threat to existence And that pregnancy should not lead to inequality of opportunity in the labor market"Especially for female founders, female managers in investment-intensive industries, and self-employed people in physically demanding professions, instruments must be created to prevent pregnancy-related business closures," said Johanna Röh.

Read more More about Petition #myworkshopstays and to the concerns of Johanna Röh read here

Working as a self-employed person on the construction site during pregnancy

While an employed carpenter immediately found out that she was pregnant company employment ban with full continued payment of wages If she had received the money, she would have continued to work on the construction site to ensure the continued existence of her business, the master carpenter told the members of parliament in the Petitions Committee.

If she were insolvent If she had gone, she would have lost the capital that had flowed into the company in recent years, her trainee would have had to look for a new training position and she would have had to rebuild the company later or look for a job.

"Perhaps with a master carpenter who can easily combine family and business because he is not the one who is having the child himself." That is no equal opportunities, she said. During the coronavirus pandemic, Röh also succeeded in supporting businesses. "We expect the same from us," she emphasized. Currently, however, she could have applied for household assistance, but not for business assistance.

Farm assistance based on the agricultural model

The Maternity Protection Act does not cover the self-employed, as it requires employers to create protection zones for employees, explained State Secretary for Family Affairs Ekin Deligöz. Protection options could be provided through the private and statutory health insurance companies but they would also be limited, she said.

Deligöz said the agricultural model was interesting. Here, there is already the possibility of applying for agricultural aid. In order to develop a Business assistance also for craft businesses To create this, she was in talks with the Central Association of German Skilled Crafts (ZDH). It could through the professional route run, she said.

Austria, for example, does this through contributions from the self-employed, says Deligöz. Attorney Angela Heinssen, who had accompanied Johanna Röh, advocated before the committee for a quick solutionThat might cost something, she said, but the short-term returns from establishing companies, taking over craft businesses, and securing medical practices in rural areas are invaluable.

Source: hib

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