As you know, Royal Decree Law 6/2019 approved on March 1 includes the extended paternity leave to eight weeks (which the father can already request) and progressively until 16 weeks to match that of maternity in 2021. But, What happens in the case of single parents?
Two single-parent families (of single mothers) submitted a complaint to the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), to denounce The discrimination that these families suffer, regardless of their reality.
Nontransferable weeks lost
As denounced by the Federation of Associations of Single Mothers (FAMS) the new decree treats "unequally" minors according to the composition of their family and, specifically, "worsens the rights that single-parent families had already acquired in cases of multiple births or children with disabilities ".
A single mother of twins denounces that with the new norm the permit has been cut for a week, since in the case of multiple births, as is the case, at 16 weeks of the maternity leave that corresponds to her by law, they were added an extra two weeks in case of giving birth to more than one child. But now, with the new decree, these weeks they are non-transferable and must be distributed necessarily between "each parent".
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In this way, mothers who care for themselves, like her, run out of a week to take care of their babies. Therefore, what the Federation of Associations of Single Mothers requests is that, in the cases of parents who care for their children without a partner, the permission that corresponds to the other can be enjoyed by other family members.
For the FAMS, which coordinates the State Network of Single-Parent Family Entities, this mother's situation "is symbolic and makes visible that they have forgotten our reality," explains Carmen Flores, president of the Federation.
Situation also denounced by the Association Single Mothers by Choice (MSPE):
The RD law 6/2019 ignored the demands of the REEFM where it treats minors in an unequal way according to the composition of their family, and now worsens the rights that the #familiasmonoparentales already had in the cases of multiple births or children with disability. //t.co/g49XdbDJji
- Asociación MSPE (@AsociacionMSPE) July 11, 2019
More rights for single mothers and fathers
"All children have the right to the same number of family care days regardless of the family model to which they belong," they say from the Platform for Equal and Non-Transferable Birth and Adoption Permits (PPiiNA).
They claim that the children of single-parent families should be able to fully enjoy the 24 weeks (16 of the mother plus 8 of the father who enjoy the children of a family with father and mother), instead of only 16 weeks.
For its part, the Secretary of State for Social Security recognizes that "it is an important gap" and points out that it will be reversed "immediately." So we hope because according to the National Statistics Institute, in our country there are 1.5 million single-parent households supported by women and 340,000, by men, who are also affected by this situation.
