Motion: Pregnant and Productive

Pregnant and Productive

Lodged by John Swinburne Standard Motion 15 supporters

The motion

That the Parliament welcomes the great benefit to equality brought about by the Sex Discrimination Act which became law 30 years ago in November 1975 but is concerned that total equality has yet to be achieved in many areas, especially in equal pay for equal work, equal pensions for the spouse in a partnership and equal protection for pregnant women within the workplace; notes the Pregnant and Productive campaign by the Equal Opportunities Commission highlighting the plight of the 30,000 women in the United Kingdom who are forced out of employment due to pregnancy which costs these women £12 million a year in lost maternity pay and employers £126 million a year to replace the lost members of staff, and calls on the Scottish Executive to add its support to the campaign for improvements in employment practice to end this shameful discrimination and to work with Scottish employers to improve the situation for the estimated seven out of 10 pregnant women who experience unfair treatment due to their condition and who currently suffer in silence.

Supporters (15)