Caption: A file photo posted on the Facebook page of Kamla Persad-Bissessar with her holding a baby

By Alicia Chamely

PRIME Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is urging young women to consider the path of motherhood, noting you do not have to choose between a career or motherhood, you can have both.

Taking to both her Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) accounts on Sunday, Persad-Bissessar lauded the announcement by Minister of Labour, Small and Micro Enterprise Development Leroy Baptiste that cabinet had approved a series of sweeping amendments to the Maternity Protection Act.

Baptiste made the announcement on Sunday morning at a press conference held at the United National Congress headquarters in Chaguanas.

Announcing the amendments to the Act, which would allow for expanded paid leave and stronger workplace protections for parents, he said, “I’m happy to announce that the government has approved the amendment of two pieces of legislation that will, in no uncertain terms, impact favourably the lives of our workers. Namely, one, the maternity Protection Act number 419, 98.”

Baptiste stated the reasoning behind the amending the Act was to address gaps in the legislation that needed to be adjusted to fit into the modern world.

Persad-Bissessar said the amendments to the Act, which included protected paternity leave and the introduction of pay protected breastfeeding breaks, was a “major win for working families.”

Speaking to the nation’s young women she stated, “I say again to young women finding your path: reflect on the gift of motherhood. You do not have to choose between a career and a family, you can have both.”

“To all young women who are now finding your paths through adulthood, based on my own experiences, I urge you to consider the opportunity to become a mother. One of the most beautiful feelings in life is the happiness and joy you experience when you return to a home of happy children,” she added.

Persad-Bissessar stated that while it was easy to focus solely on one’s careers in their twenties and thirties, when you reach forty and over, “life without a family and children may get very lonely as you get older.”

She said without familial move, “money and achievements become worthless when loneliness envelops your older years.”

Persad-Bissessar, commenting on the role of motherhood in society, stated, “Mothers have long been the pillars of families at home and the foundation of progress at work in Trinidad and Tobago.”

 “Our nation’s development and growth were built by generations of mothers who, against all odds, ensured their children attained better lives in a progressive nation,” she stated, reiterating that with the current amendments being brought to pass, “It is very possible to have a career and be a mother at the same time- you don’t have to choose between them.”

Amendments to the Maternity Protection Act, as approved by Cabinet, were:

• The removal of the rule limiting maternity benefits to once every 24 months;
• The recognition of paternity and parental leave, extending benefits to adoptive parents and guardians, and applying parental leave where a mother dies following childbirth;
• The introduction of paid breastfeeding breaks;
• Strengthened protections against workplace discrimination;
• Banning the practice of pregnancy testing for job applicants and employees;
• Guaranteeing a return to the same job after maternity, paternity or parental leave;
• Shifting the burden of proof to employers;
• Extending full protections to contract workers; and
• Fast-tracking cases through the Industrial Court