The socialist Miguel Prata Roque expressed his opinion on Facebook regarding the latest interview given by the Minister of Labor, in which she criticized women who allegedly breastfeed their children beyond the age of two.
“The Minister and the PSD think the problem is the ‘fraudster mothers’ who pretend to breastfeed,” wrote the socialist, lamenting that their stance aligns with those who “threaten punishment and career stagnation to those who prioritize family over profit,” he began.
“It’s easy to boast about defending the ‘Family’ (meaning theirs, of course). If cynicism killed, we wouldn’t have a government anymore,” he criticized, adding that the “Public Prosecutor’s Office should investigate and punish workplace harassment crimes against mothers and fathers.”
For the socialist, “there is no maternity/paternity without creating conditions for people to fully exercise it,” and for this reason, he lists measures that, in his view, make more sense to defend.
These measures include “forcing companies to create the nurseries that have been closed over the past decades,” “increasing paid maternity leave,” “requiring parental leave for fathers to be as long as for mothers,” “ensuring telework and flexible hours, with a prohibition of work on weekends and holidays,” and “extending precarious contracts for young people by three years.”
Miguel Prata Roque also stated that “the Minister of Labor should be concerned” about cases of labor abuse against mothers and fathers who want to be with their children, and should therefore “provide guidance and resources to the Working Conditions Authority and CITE to initiate sanctioning procedures and restore legality.”
Controversial Measures and Interview Ignite Debate
The measures presented by the Government in the draft reform of labor legislation have sparked debate in recent days. At issue is a proposal to reduce the maximum time for reduced working hours for breastfeeding mothers to two years, and the requirement for proof of breastfeeding via a medical declaration at birth (something previously only required after the first year of a baby’s life).
The measures prompted several family support associations and others to condemn this decision, arguing that the measures do not promote increased birth rates and place mothers in a vulnerable position in their workplaces.
The Minister of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security’s statements on alleged abuses of the right to breastfeeding are causing controversy. Women’s advocacy associations denounce the minister’s “disinformation.”
Additionally, in an interview published this weekend, the Minister stated that there is an “abusive exercise” of the right to reduced working hours for breastfeeding mothers, with “children who seemingly continue to be breastfed just to give the worker reduced hours […] until they enter primary school.”
