Timeslive reports that Hendri Terblanche‚ who successful petitioned Parliament to allow men to get more days off to take care of their newborns‚ now wants the roles reversed for adult children and their elderly parents.
He is again petitioning Parliament‚ this time to amend the Basic Conditions of Employment Act of 1997 to include "parent‚ adoptive or grandparent" in the section relating to time off work – or to introduce a new type of leave called "Elder Care Leave" to allow for time to care for an aging parent who was sick or terminally ill. In a letter to the National Council of Provinces‚ Terblanche said elder care was just as important as childcare and employees should receive three days’ paid leave‚ or six weeks’ unpaid leave‚ when a parent or adoptive parent was ill. He pointed out that legislation and policies such as family responsibility leave have been developed around the role of the parent as caregiver and not the receiver of care-giving.
- Read this report by Nivashni Nair in full at Timeslive
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