[sparky_z]

A 3-year maternity/paternity leave guaranteed by law sounds so completely crazy and unworkable to me that I think I must be misunderstanding what you mean. Before I start pelting you with objections that might be based on a misunderstanding, do you want to fill in a bit more detail on how you envision such a policy working in practice?

[sleepyguy]

Well they already offer it in some places in Canada and the EU. Canada Post offers 5 years. Not all of it is paid but there is a portion that is.

[sparky_z]

I've tried to research this, because I am honestly trying to understand it. It has been surprisingly difficult to verify what the current parental rights are for Canada Post. The most recent info on the union website is dated 2004, but I think the same basic agreement is still in force? Correct me if I'm wrong.

https://www.cupw.ca/sites/default/files/legacy_imported_docu...

Also, it's worth noting that the Canada Post leave policy it's obviously the result of a union negotiation, not a blanket government policy that applies to all jobs. The post office is the epitome of a stable job that doesn't change much, so is probably optimally able to offer longer parental benefits.

Anyway, it says:

> All pregnant employees are entitled to 17 weeks of unpaid maternity leave.... If you have worked for the post office for six months of continuous service, and if you are eligible for the Employment Insurance (EI) maternity leave benefits, you are eligible to receive paid maternity leave.... EI [government program] pays a basic rate of 55% of your average earnings, up to a maximum of $413 per week.... This amount is topped up with the SUB [Supplementary Unemployment Benefit from the union contract] to 93% of your weekly wage.

> If your spouse is giving birth, you are entitled to one day of leave with pay.

> Parental leave [without pay)] can be split between two parents, but the total number of weeks must not be more than 37. The total number of weeks or paternity and maternity leave must not be more than 52 weeks.

That's a far, far cry from 3 years of leave, much less 5. Like I said, it may be outdated, but I can't find any indication that it has changed, and I don't want to spend my whole day on this.

Where are you getting this 5 year number? 5 years sounds truly insane and I have real trouble believing it. Even assuming that's split between the two parents, can a family have 6 children 2.5 years apart and spend a continuous 15 years of their careers on leave?

[yorwba]

I don't know about Canada Post, but Wikipedia has a handy table listing the duration of parental leave. 3 years is a common option across various European countries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_leave#Europe_and_Cent... Yes, parents with a lot of children could potentially spend a very long time out of work while still keeping their jobs, but it's rather rare to have so many children that it would become an issue.