Dear Editor
The DA welcomes the Constitutional Court’s ruling in favour of gender equality on parental leave. This is a step towards recognising the shared role of both parents in raising their children, and allowing families to choose the arrangements that suit them best.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Nomakhosazana Meth, should not wait for 36 months to table the necessary legislative amendments to align the Basic Conditions of Employment Act with the Court’s ruling, but should do it now.
The Court has confirmed the 2023 High Court judgment which declared sections of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act unconstitutional. The High Court found that the Act unfairly discriminated by reserving four months of maternity leave exclusively for biological mothers, even when they preferred to share this leave with their partner. It ordered Parliament to amend the legislation within two years and issued an interim order allowing parents to share these four months between them.
Our legal system requires such orders to be confirmed by the Constitutional Court. That confirmation has now been granted. This demonstrates the court’s acknowledgement of the role of fathers in raising children, and this mirrors the obligation and responsibility of both parents to protect, raise and support their children.
The DA has been calling for this reform in Parliament and in public for the past 11 years. Today’s ruling affirms what we have long argued: both parents should be entitled to share parental leave, so that families can decide what arrangement works best for them.
Regards
Michael Bagraim MP
DA Spokesperson on Labour and Employment