- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- Global stocks diverge as Chinese shares tumble
- Time runs out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Chad issues warning ahead of more devastating floods
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
- Chinese stocks tumble on lack of fresh stimulus
- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
RBGPF | 4.03% | 63.35 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0% | 6.9 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.15% | 24.557 | $ | |
BCC | -2.88% | 138.41 | $ | |
SCS | -3.7% | 12.565 | $ | |
BTI | -0.97% | 35.14 | $ | |
AZN | -0.99% | 76.745 | $ | |
NGG | 0.14% | 65.72 | $ | |
RIO | 0.53% | 66.705 | $ | |
GSK | -2.85% | 39.125 | $ | |
RELX | -0.77% | 46.355 | $ | |
JRI | -0.1% | 13.207 | $ | |
VOD | -0.31% | 9.7 | $ | |
BCE | -1.71% | 32.75 | $ | |
BP | 0.9% | 32.27 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.27% | 24.746 | $ |
Spain passes law for Europe's first 'menstrual leave'
Spain's parliament approved Thursday a law granting paid medical leave to women suffering severe period pain, becoming the first European country to advance such legislation.
The law, which passed by 185 votes in favour to 154 against, is aimed at breaking a taboo on the subject, Spain's left-wing government has said.
Menstrual leave is currently offered only in a small number of countries across the globe, such as Japan, Indonesia and Zambia.
"It is a historic day for feminist progress," tweeted Equality Minister Irene Montero, who says the move is a step toward addressing a health problem that has been largely swept under the carpet.
The legislation entitles employees experiencing period pain to as much time off as they need, with the state social security system -- not employers -- picking up the tab for the sick leave.
As with paid leave for other health reasons, it requires a doctor's approval, though the length of sick leave is not specified in the law.
About a third of women suffer from severe menstrual pain, according to the Spanish Gynaecology and Obstetrics Society.
"Periods will no longer be taboo," Montero said after the law was initially approved by the cabinet in May 2022.
"No more going to work with pain, no more taking pills before arriving at work and having to hide the fact we're in pain that makes us unable to work."
- Politicians, unions divided -
But the legislation created divisions among both politicians and unions.
The CCOO, one of Spain's main trade unions, welcomed the move as a major "legislative advance" to recognise a problem that has been "ignored" until now.
But the UGT, Spain's other main union, warned it could stigmatise women in the workplace and indirectly hinder their "access to the labour market", a stance echoed by the main right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP).
Menstrual leave was part of a broader law that also bolsters access to abortion services in public hospitals, a right that remains fraught with difficulties in a country with a strong Catholic tradition.
Less than 15 percent of abortions performed in the country take place in public hospitals, mainly because of conscientious objections by doctors.
The new legislation also allows minors aged 16 and 17 to have an abortion without parental permission, reversing a requirement introduced by a previous conservative government in 2015.
Spain, a European leader in women's rights, decriminalised abortion in 1985, and in 2010, it passed a law that allows women to opt freely for abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy in most cases.
P.Gonzales--CPN