Include the elderly in ‘family responsibility leave’, parliament told
With the population’s life expectancy rising, we need more time to take care of our aged, says Hendri Terblanche, who is petitioning for elder care leave
There is a need to accommodate the overwhelming majority of SA’s workforce who perform the job of caregiver to elderly members of society and the inclusion of elder care leave in SA’s legislation would be a progressive step based on the lived reality of those in the country. These views were presented by the Centre for Constitutional Rights to parliament’s select committee on petitions and executive undertakings last week. The committee was discussing Hendri Terblanche’s petition to amend the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) to include elder care leave. Terblanche last year successfully petitioned parliament to allow men to get more days off to take care of their newborns. Terblanche was invited to present his arguments on why employees should be given time off work to look after their parents. This after he wrote to the National Council of Provinces saying that elder care was as important as child care. The Centre for Constitutional Rights was also invited to present argum...
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