2023-04-19 09:54:57
If France has not yet decided on the subject, the debate is progressing. Carrefour is the first major company to get involved, others might follow
With no less than 50,000 employees in France – 40,000 of whom are women – Carrefour is a company that counts in the country’s economy. Also, the initiative that the brand has just announced for its employees might help to make things happen for women in the world of work.
“To advance women’s rights and equality at work, we have decided (…) to grant 12 days of absence to women suffering from endometriosis, i.e. one day per month”, declared during a press conference the CEO of the group, Alexandre Bompard, considering that Carrefour is “the first major company to do so”.
From this summer, employees affected by endometriosis will therefore see their days of absence financed by the company, up to 12 additional days off per year. A big plus when you know that private sector employees must assume three days of waiting when a doctor prescribes a work stoppage.
Pain, chronic fatigue, endometriosis can have a strong impact on professional life. It is estimated that in France, approximately one woman in ten suffers from this inflammatory and chronic gynecological disease (i.e. 10% of French women of childbearing age), which is usually manifested by heavy periods and severe pain.
Carrefour is the first major French company to take up the subject, while the government has not yet positioned itself, without deciding either on the so-called “menstrual” leave. The latter aims to allow women to be absent from work in the event of painful periods, without loss of salary. This has been implemented in particular by the French furniture manufacturer, Louis Design, which offers additional paid vacation days to those who suffer from disabling periods of menstruation. Other SMEs have followed suit, but these measures remain rare.
Leave does not convince everyone
This right does not convince everyone. Additional leave for some might result in “disorganization” within small businesses, expressed concern to the Confederation of SMEs (CPME). Besides, “women do not all experience this period of menstruation in the same way, those who need it can be arrested” by a doctor, added its vice-president, Stéphanie Pauzat.
Same story on the side of Medef, which said it was opposed to menstrual leave. Such a measure “would convey the image that women cannot occupy the same positions as men”, according to the employers’ organization. Feminist associations are also worried regarding a possible backlash. Creating menstrual leave might result in employment discrimination once morest women.
Yet the idea is gaining ground even at the institutional level, last March, the municipality of Saint-Ouen, in Seine-Saint-Denis, launched the experiment of menstrual leave for its agents suffering from pain or endometriosis. . A first in France. The Socialist Party (PS), which had included menstrual leave in its program for the 2022 presidential election, has since the end of 2022 been offering a day of menstrual leave to employees at its headquarters.
Carrefour’s announcement was welcomed this morning by Sandrine Rousseau. On France Info, the deputy Europe-Ecologie Les Verts (EELV) from Paris, said: “Things are moving forward. It would be good for the state to move in this direction as well. she added. “It is for some women, unbearable pain and it would be normal that finally these pathologies, specifically female, are recognized in the world of work”.
Especially since in addition to the days granted for endometriosis, Carrefour has indicated that even if “menstrual” leave is not on the agenda, employees who have suffered a miscarriage will be able to benefit from three days of leave, when those having recourse to medically assisted procreation will be entitled to a day of rest, following the implantation of an embryo.
A text submitted in May
Sébastien Peytavie, ecologist deputy launched, with Marie-Charlotte Garin and Sandrine Rousseau, a consultation on the subject with feminist associations, representatives of the medical world and that of the company. Objective: to draft a bill to create compensated menstrual leave, without a waiting day, while respecting medical secrecy. The text must be tabled on May 26. PS deputies Mickaël Bouloux and Fatiha Keloua Hachi also conducted a series of hearings on their side with a view to the same objective.
“Women’s health has long been taboo and ignored”underlined, at the beginning of the month, Isabelle Rome, the Minister Delegate for Equality between Women and Men, in a statement sent to AFP. “It is imperative that it never once more be a source of precariousness, nor a brake on the reconciliation between personal life and professional life”.
In January, the government launched a national strategy to fight endometriosis, which includes a research program endowed with several million euros.
With regard to the MEPs’ initiatives to create menstrual leave, “we will be able to decide” when the proposals have been submitted “and that we will have visibility on their content”said the minister.
A right still rare in the world
– Spain: a new law, unprecedented in Europe
Last February, Spanish MPs definitively adopted a bill creating “menstrual leave” for women suffering from painful periods, a first in Europe. The duration of sick leave that doctors may grant to women suffering from painful menstruation has not been specified in the new law.
– Japan: in law since 1947
In Japan, the right to menstrual leave has been enshrined in law since 1947: companies cannot force an employee to work if she asks to be on “menstrual leave”. There is no limit to the number of days that can be taken for this type of leave, but it is generally unpaid. Some 30% of companies offer to fully or partially reimburse these periodic leaves, according to a study by the Japanese Ministry of Labor, carried out in 2020 on 6,000 companies. This survey had then established that only 0.9% of eligible employees declared that they had taken menstrual leave.
– South Korea: one day per month
In South Korea, employees are allowed to take one day of menstrual leave per month, which is unpaid. Companies that do not comply with the law are liable to a fine of 5 million won, or regarding 3,750 euros. According to a 2018 survey, 19% of female employees say they use the right to menstrual leave.
– Indonesia: one or two days per cycle
In Indonesia, a law adopted in 2003 provides for one or two days of paid leave at the start of the menstrual cycle, in the event of painful periods. The law only obliges female employees to notify their employers of the date of taking these leaves. But the detailed implementation is left to companies and their employees. In practice, many companies allow only one day of menstrual leave, or even none, choosing to ignore the law.
– Taiwan: maximum three days per year
Taiwan also recognizes the right to menstrual leave for female employees up to a limit of one day per month and a total of three days per year. However, it is still possible for employees to benefit from more days of menstrual leave, but they are then counted as normal sick leave days. Menstrual leave is reimbursed, as is sick leave, as half-days worked.
– Zambia: “Mother’s Day” since 2015
A southern African country, Zambia passed a law in 2015 granting women the right to menstrual leave, which allows them to take an extra day off per month, without notice or a medical certificate in the event of painful periods. Nicknamed in the country “Mother’s Day”, menstrual leave is generally accepted but some employers remain reluctant and require, for example, that women give notice. “Some companies don’t even want to hear regarding the fact that their employees are entitled to ‘Mother’s Day'”, according to Ruth Kanyanga Kamwi, communication specialist and feminist activist. But thanks to the unions, more and more employees are exercising their right.
– Several companies around the world
Several companies around the world offer their employees the possibility of taking “period leave”. For example, the Australian pension fund Future Super, the Indian delivery company Zomato or the French furniture manufacturer Louis Design offer six, ten or 12 days of additional paid leave per year to their employees suffering from painful periods. The movement is recent and unions, particularly in Australia, are campaigning for the generalization of this type of right in companies.
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