Giving back to the mothers of our Nation
Should Government step up and foot the entire cost as a way of supporting its future citizens?

The last time the Cook Islands government passed a bill relating to employment, all the Beatles were not only still alive, they were only in the early days of taking North America by storm.
The year was 1964. For those without a calculator, that’s 46 years ago.
The Cook Islands Industrial and Labour Ordinance (last amended in 2002) is about to be replaced by the new Employment Relations Act 2009 – providing Parliament ever convenes again, of course – an early draft of which runs to 32 pages.
It is, however, the contents of Page 12 that could have the most impact for years to come. A mere seven paragraphs in length, the clauses relating to Maternity and Paternity Leave may very well shape the future of this country.
While mothers-to-be in the public sector fall under the protective umbrella of Government benefits, those in the private sector have been at the mercy of their employers as far as any kind of paid leave or job protection during what is the most crucial stage in both the mother’s recovery and the infant’s early development.
Should it pass into law, the Employment Relations Act 2009, which deals exclusively with the private sector, allows new mothers to take six weeks off for maternity leave – two weeks paid by Government, two weeks paid by their employer, and two weeks of unpaid leave – without losing their job or seniority.
Is six weeks long enough? Will this new law cripple small businesses? Should Government step up and foot the entire cost as a way of supporting its future citizens?
We went to the experts to find the answers.
The Special Select Committee
Considering how important this bill is to every employee in the country, no matter their gender, the response to a call for public comments has been less than impressive.
“We have only six submissions,” says Puna Rakanui, the deputy clerk of Parliament who is doubling as secretary for the Employment Relations Bill Special Select Committee.
“I’m disappointed,” says Rakanui. “I don’t know whether it was the tsunami (warning) or the cyclone in Aitutaki and Penrhyn that made the situation a little bit complicated for people to respond to the bill.”
While it may not be reflected in the number of official submissions, Rakanui says the maternity leave section has sparked a lot of interest, mostly from private sector employers who are not pleased.
“It’s a money issue,” Rakanui says. “All these companies are money-making businesses; that’s their primary aim. If you take away a mother for, say, six weeks, that’s a loss to the company. That’s going to be really hard on those companies.”
Some of these businesses are taking the stance that maternity is a community welfare issue and should, therefore, be dealt with exclusively by Government, rather than placing the fiscal responsibility on the private-sector employers.
Rakanui agrees this is an area where Government needs to take a closer look.
“Is this a welfare issue? Is this a community issue?” he says. “And if it is, the government should probably step in and help. But, again, by how much?
“That’s probably another issue. The first step is for the government to accept it is part of its responsibility.”
There is a genuine concern that the country’s population is declining, in part due to the fact that women of child-bearing years fear for their jobs should they fall pregnant.
Asked if the provisions in the new act are attractive enough to encourage mothers in the private sector to give birth, Rakanui shakes his head.
“I don’t think so,” he says.
Labour & Consumer Services
Helen Maunga would like to see all women treated equally.
As the Director, Labour & Consumer Services for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Maunga has first-hand knowledge of how Government workers receive six paid weeks of maternity leave, a financial security she’d like every mother to enjoy.
“A lot of women in the private sector are not being paid maternity leave,” she says, calling the section dealing with maternity leave “the most important part” of the Employment Relations Act 2009.
A mother of eight, Maunga understands the importance of having sufficient time for mother and baby to bond, without the pressure of worrying about how the bills will be paid.
“Six weeks is not enough,” she says. “You’ve got to spend as much time as you can with a new child.
“As a mother, I believe there should be support by society to provide paid maternity leave for mothers who are having a child. To help this baby that is going to be developed and nurtured into a citizen of this country.”
The National Council of Women
The National Council of Women is offering its full support to the maternity protection clause in the Employment Relations Act 2009, according to Vaine Wichman, the organization’s financial advisor.
“We have, at the moment, the Public Service Act, which provides maternity protection for all women in the public service who have babies,” Wichman says. “Unfortunately, that’s not the case for our women who work in the private sector at the moment.”
Wichman says it’s important that any new legislation take into account the growth in women’s participation in the country’s economic development and ensure they are able to continue to do so.
The job security and financial assistance, Wichman says, will result in a win-win situation across the board.
“Just the recognition alone that they are going to be able to stay at home for 4-6 weeks, paid, ensures their return to employment,” she says. “And the strength of their return will be shown in the productivity they will give back to the employer.”
Wichman says she has personal experience with both a truncated maternity leave and one that was three months in length.
In the former situation, Wichman says she spent her time at work worrying about her newborn. Alternatively, she was so grateful for the extended leave, she didn’t use it all.
“I didn’t even finish the three months before I was back at work, giving them 150 per cent of my productivity,” she says. “Why? Because they recognized that I just needed a certain period of time to sort my health out, to sort my child out.”
Wichman says employers will never have a better worker than a woman who feels she is appreciated.
“When they come back to work, they are committed to that employer,” she says.
The Cook Islands Family Welfare Association
They listen to women at the Cook Islands Family Welfare Association, and what they’re hearing is not always good news when it comes to taking time off to have a baby.
“We come across some young girls who are feeling really down when they know they are going to go on maternity leave without pay,” says charge nurse Kathy Koteka. “They do tell us they don’t have enough money to look after their children and also their newborn.”
Koteka says the association is encouraged by the new legislation and its call for mandatory paid maternity leave.
“I think it’s very important that a mother should be compensated while she is on maternity leave,” she says. “All pregnant women should be treated the same, whether you work for the government or the private sector.”
According to Koteka, the Ministry of Health considers the early days with a newborn as vital to the well-being of mother and child, which is why it’s so important to have the opportunity to take maternity leave.
“That’s the only time you have time for the baby, to bond with the baby,” Koteka says. “Because, once you start working again, you have to leave baby home with someone else to look after them.”
Women are telling the clinic’s staff they are finding it difficult to bear children under the current economical situation.
“Once the new mothers have a child, they don’t want another baby for a good three, four years, for strictly financial reasons,” Koteka says. “They find it too expensive to have another child.”
The Small-Business Owner
As the managing director of Island Craft, Fletcher Melvin understands what maternity leave means to a small business.
“Mainly it’s a staffing issue,” he says. “And a financial one. Because we do employ a lot of ladies in our business, it does affect us financially because they’re not at work.”
On the other hand, Melvin also appreciates how valuable his employees are to the company’s success.
“We recognize the fact that the ladies, when they are at work, are contributing a lot to our business,” he says.
Island Craft’s current policy gives new mothers two weeks’ paid leave, and six weeks in total, depending on how long the woman has been an employee.
“I think two weeks is sustainable for the company,” he says. “If Government can contribute, that’s a great thing. It’s good for us. It’s good for, obviously, the ladies who are on maternity leave. I think it’s a great start.”
Melvin, who has fathered two children, has seen for himself the advantages of giving a new mother as much time off as possible after giving birth.
“I certainly don’t think I could recover after a traumatic experience like birth after a week or so,” he says. “I think we should be very grateful men aren’t having babies because we’d certainly need longer than six weeks to recover.
“Six weeks is needed not only to bring up the child, but for the lady to recover as well. That’s just as important.”
The Mother
Teina Mackenzie knows she was luckier than most women employed in the private sector.
A mother of six, five of whom were delivered at the Rarotonga hospital, Mackenzie had the majority of her children while employed by a progressive-thinking private company that allowed for six weeks of paid maternity leave.
As welcome as that break was, Mackenzie says it’s still not sufficient, considering the ramifications – physically, mentally, emotionally – of giving birth.
“Generally, six weeks is not enough for a mother to be able to properly nurture her child, and also heal herself, take care of herself and provide for her family,” she says. “You’re creating a productive member of the community and it has to be seen as that. You have to put your energy into catering to a young newborn.”
Using her situation as an example, Mackenzie says an employee who feels looked after by her employer will be a better worker.
“You get the benefits when you take care of your employees,” she said. “They will, in turn, want to take care of the company with wanting to be there and do their best in whatever service they are providing.”
Now an owner of a small business herself, Mackenzie is experiencing the situation from the other side of the ledger, which is why she says it would be “ideal” and “commendable” if Government provided all the funds for paid maternity leave.
“It would be an investment into the future of the country,” she says. “This is a priority for the people of the Cook Islands, taking care of our children. When you provide an environment where a child can grow positively, you’re going to end up with a child that contributes positively.”
While admitting the proposed maternity leave isn’t perfect, Mackenzie concedes it is still an encouraging positive move forward.
“Any positive change, or move towards extension of benefits for mothers, is a step in the right direction,” she says.

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