“The family is a political priority and a strategic investment in the future of the Republic”. The Secretary of State for Justice, Welfare and Family Stefano Canti thus looks at the new law to support the familyof maternity and birth, definitively approved by the Great and General Council.
A provision that introduces several innovations: from the recognition of the figure of the family caregiver to 8 hours of paid leave per year for medical visits for each child up to the age of 14, up to sickness allowance for the parent in the event of the child’s illness. Paid paternity leave also increases from 10 to 20 days, while protections for maternity and parental leave are strengthened. There are also reductions in the rates of nursery and school meals based on income and the extension of the possibility of using part-time work from three to four years.
For Canti, however, the challenge now is to make the new opportunities concretely known. “The measures introduced are numerous and concretely concern the daily lives of many families: for this reason we believe it is our duty to accompany the approval of the law with a public moment of information and discussion”.
On 8 October, at 8pm, in the Montelupo hall in Domagnano, a public evening dedicated to the reform will be held. “We want this reform to be known, understood and concretely accessible to all those who can benefit from it,” underlines Canti. The meeting will also serve to listen to “the questions, observations and needs of San Marino families”.
Among the new features there is also the Information Point for the Family, designed to orient citizens among measures, services and opportunities. “Politics cannot limit itself to approving good laws: it must also make sure that citizens know what changes and how they can exercise the rights and access the opportunities that the law makes available to them”.
Finally, on the issue of the birth rate, Canti reiterates the need for a structural intervention: “The birth rate cannot be addressed with slogans and cannot be resolved with a single bonus. It is addressed by creating the conditions so that every family and every single citizen can look to the future with greater confidence”. And he concludes: “We have chosen to invest in the family because we believe that investing in it means investing in social cohesion, in the growth of our community and, above all, in the future of the Republic”.
