Bloomberg BNA article: Canada Developing Policy for Pregnant Workers in Dangerous Jobs

From the article:

Cases like Ballard’s are infrequent but happen often enough to constitute a significant barrier to women seeking construction careers, Bob Blakely, operating officer for Canada’s Building Trades Unions, said June 15.

“Something needs to be done about it,” Blakely told Bloomberg BNA.

The 12 weeks of maternity leave now proposed by the federal government are a step in the right direction but fall short of fully addressing the problem, said Blakely, who argues that the duration of maternity leave should at least equal the 16 weeks provided in cases of illness.

“Why shouldn’t [pregnant women] get treated the same as everyone else who has a health condition,” Blakely said.

Because the construction sector faces serious shortages in some skilled trades, “if we can’t get bright young women, we’re never going to make it,” Blakely said.

The rest of the article can be seen here.

(L’article est disponible en anglais seulement)

Cases like Ballard’s are infrequent but happen often enough to constitute a significant barrier to women seeking construction careers, Bob Blakely, operating officer for Canada’s Building Trades Unions, said June 15.

“Something needs to be done about it,” Blakely told Bloomberg BNA.

The 12 weeks of maternity leave now proposed by the federal government are a step in the right direction but fall short of fully addressing the problem, said Blakely, who argues that the duration of maternity leave should at least equal the 16 weeks provided in cases of illness.

“Why shouldn’t [pregnant women] get treated the same as everyone else who has a health condition,” Blakely said.

Because the construction sector faces serious shortages in some skilled trades, “if we can’t get bright young women, we’re never going to make it,” Blakely said.

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