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Parents plan national strike over lack of workplace support

The strike, planned for 27th August, will see parents call for better support including flexible working and improved paternity leave.

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Parents from across the UK are preparing for the Parent Strike, led by Anna Whitehouse, founder of Flex Appeal, and campaign group The Dad Shift. 

The strike, planned for 27th August, will see parents picket Downing Street, Holyrood and the Welsh Senedd, calling for better support including flexible working and improved paternity leave.

Events are planned in towns and cities throughout the UK as the Government’s parental leave review nears its final stages. 

Parents are demanding action on the cost of raising a family, inflexible working arrangements and limited paternity leave. 

Whitehouse said: “Lot’s of people want to be parents but aren’t, because we’re living in a society that isn’t helping parents to thrive. 

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“74,000 mums are kicked out of work every year after having kids, and on top of this many parents have to give in and leave their jobs, or reduce their hours due to inflexible work. 

“Meanwhile, 600,000 families are failed by the worst paternity leave in Europe every single year, despite a mountain of evidence on the devastating impact on dads, on mums and babies.”

Whitehouse added: “With many young adults put off having young kids by the cost, the barriers facing parenthood are simply too great and as a nation, we need to take decisive action.

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“Enough really is enough. A generation ago women in Iceland downed tools for each other, for their families and for gender equality. 

“We’re doing the same, but this time with mums and dads together. It’s time to make the changes that parents need to be able to thrive – we need to see flexible working introduced as default, not as a perk, and we need paternity leave to catch up with maternity leave to start to balance the parenting scales.”

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Analysis by The Dad Shift found fewer younger parents claiming statutory parental leave, with claims by dads under 25 down 37% and by mums under 30 down nearly 20% in the last decade. 

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Research from the Resolution Foundation found a quarter of men and almost a third of women born in 1989-90 cited finances as the reason for not having children.

George Gabriel, co-founder of The Dad Shift, said: “Parenting is meant to be hard, but it’s not meant to be this hard. 

“In just a few generations, the costs of raising kids have skyrocketed. 

“Raising a family can’t be allowed to become the preserve of the well off, and it’s not like we don’t know how to prevent that.”

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Gabriel added: “We now need to see decisive action from the Government. 

“Flexible working available to everyone means parents can properly share the load. 

“At least six weeks’ paternity leave paid at 90% pay or more to properly support the most active generation of fathers we have ever seen.”

He said: “The Government’s parental leave review gives us a once-in-a-generation chance to finally sort this out, so we’re encouraging everyone who cares about this issue to join us on 27th August for The Parent Strike.”

Polling by The Dad Shift found 90% of parents agreed that having children is the most meaningful thing they will ever do, and 87% the most joyful. 

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Yet 60% say fear of financial insecurity puts them off having more children. 

Gabriel said: “The joys of raising a family are becoming unaffordable. Is it any wonder parents are going on strike? 

“Amidst all the focus on what divides us, society has lost sight of some of the most important things that can bring us together – it’s time we fixed that.”

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