ABWU Renews Call for 10 Days Paternity Leave in Antigua and Barbuda General Secretary David Massiah has renewed calls for fathers in Antigua and Barbuda to be granted 10 days of paternity leave, saying five days is not enough to support newborns and their families.
Addressing union members at the Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union (ABWU) Labour Day rally, Senator Massiah welcomed recent government moves to introduce paternity leave but insisted that the current proposal of five days falls short of what is needed.
“We don’t want five days anymore. We want ten days,” he said. “We want to give fathers in this country enough time to spend with their newborns.”
Massiah said the union has been advocating for paternity leave for years and cautioned against what he described as political posturing by those claiming credit for the initiative.
“It is the unions who have been fighting for paternity leave in this country for how long,” he stated.
The ABWU leader tied the issue to the broader fight for workers’ rights, noting that family support measures are essential to building a more equitable and compassionate society.
He also reiterated the union’s other key demands, including an increase in the national minimum wage and action on the rising cost of living.
Massiah urged the government to take meaningful action. “We need a government that is ready to do right by the people,” he said.
The call for expanded paternity leave is part of a wider labour agenda the union is pushing, which also includes reforms to the Labour Code, a National Health and Safety Policy, and the establishment of a Severance Protection Fund.
