‘Dad strikes’ in London and Edinburgh call for higher paternity go away

Hundreds of fathers took to the streets of London and Edinburgh on Wednesday to call for higher paternity go away, in a protest that used to be billed as the arena’s first dad strike.

They got here with small children in papooses and pushchairs, as they brandished placards and pa jokes to name for an overhaul of the meanest paternity go away device in Europe.

One of the indicators out of doors the Department for Business and Trade in Admiralty Place learn: “The worst dad joke: two weeks paternity leave!”

They chanted nursery rhymes tailored for the instance. “Twinkle, twinkle, little babe, Daddy’s leave is not well paid,” went one. “The dads on the bus want time at home,” they sang in any other.

A bathing line used to be rigged up, pegged with colored child garments spelling out “two weeks is not enough”.

George Gabriel, from the Dad Shift, the marketing campaign that organised the protest, stated: “We draw inspiration from women in Iceland who ran the world’s first women’s strike back in the 70s, when they stopped doing domestic work. As a result, Iceland has got the world’s best gender equality legislation.”

He added: “But we’re not asking for time off, we’re asking for time on. We’re downing tools at work so that we can spend time with our families.

“At the very least we want to see six weeks of paternity leave at regular pay. That was recommended by the women and equalities committee on Tuesday. It should be a basic minimum – the average across Europe is eight weeks. The UK paternity leave is lowest in Europe, and 40th out of 43 developed countries.”

The team says that higher paternity go away would assist shut the gender pay hole via serving to households percentage childcare and thereby make it much less most probably for brand new moms to take occupation breaks or move part-time.

Gabriel, an IT guide who’s taking 4 months of paternity go away, additionally cited a brand new longitudinal find out about that discovered affectionate relationships between fathers and their sons lowered the danger of home violence. He stated: “There’s a lot of pressure on fathers to protect and provide, but the research shows the most important thing you can provide your kids with is your presence. The most important way to protect our boys is to be active, healthy role models in their lives day to day.”

The prospect of a dad strike used to be greeted with some scepticism via those that are cautious about public cash investment fathers. Gabriel says: “We have had some people who accuse us of being a bunch of woke dads from east London. But the polling shows 90% of fathers these days want to be an active, more active, part of their children’s lives.”

Duncan Dragonetti, from Wiltshire, arrived on the rally after converting his daughter Thomasin’s nappy in St James’s Park. Despite the parental chores, he stated he had had a “great time” spending the ultimate 4 months along with his daughter.

He disputes the declare that handiest middle-class households would take pleasure in higher paternity pay, having witnessed some great benefits of Sweden’s beneficiant device whilst running for Spotify. “In Sweden, you get 480 days between both parents over 10 years. The dads have to take 90 days or they lose them, so everyone takes it and the equality in the workforce is far more balanced.”

He added: “Most modern fathers are looking to be closer to their children and want to spend their time with them.”

Richard Odufisan, who works at a development corporate, got here to the protest along with his three-year-old son Ewa asleep in his pushchair. He says the true parenting handiest starts after the two-week statutory length, and that the speed will have to be a lot upper. He stated: “The current rate is less than 50% of the national living wage. If you were taking on parenting as a job, legally you can’t pay some one that low. Increasing would create an incentive for fathers, particularly those on lower salaries, to take parental leave.”

Sophie Barnett used to be one in every of selection of new moms who used to be participating within the protest. She got here together with her nine-month-old daughter Penny and her husband, James, who used to be allowed handiest two weeks of paternity go away.

She stated: “You have to parent as a team, but after two weeks that team gets torn apart at a really crucial time for the baby – they don’t sleep through the night, they have to wake up every three hours to eat. James had go back to work running on empty. It was really disruptive for the whole household.”