The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

THE Progressive Liberal Party’s plan to give workers three annual mental wellness days will begin as unpaid leave, according to Labour and Public Service Minister Pia Glover-Rolle.

The Golden Gates MP made the mental wellness days pledge during the party’s Blueprint for Progressive manifesto launch on Wednesday night, but did not say then that the leave would be unpaid. Only yesterday did she reveal the days would be unpaid, with officials hoping the policy could eventually evolve into paid leave.

“We are seeking to at least make the first step by providing for mental wellness days,” Mrs Glover-Rolle told reporters yesterday. “They will be unpaid in this initial implementation process, as we continue to benchmark and improve upon this initial step.”

The proposal forms part of planned changes to employment law aimed at recognising the need for time off when workers are mentally or emotionally drained, even if they are not physically ill.

Mrs Glover-Rolle said officials are still working to define the scope of the policy, with the National Tripartite Council and other stakeholders examining the distinction between mental health and mental wellness. The minister said the government does not want to delay implementation but is seeking a “progressive and informed” rollout.

“We don't want to deprive our citizens or our workers of this mental wellness days,” she said. “They can feel free to take them as unpaid days, and then there are companies who are already saying, you know, they're willing to meet the employees halfway.”

Mrs Glover-Rolle said the government has heard concerns from workers seeking time off for mental strain and wants to ensure they are not denied that option.

However, business leaders have raised concerns about how the policy would work in practice, particularly if employees can take the days off without medical verification.

Peter Goudie, the Chamber of Commerce’s labour chief, warned the proposal could be open to abuse.

“It should be diagnosed,” he said yesterday. “They're just taking time off. You don't know whether they're sick or not, right? That's the issue.”

“People just say, oh I am going to take a day off today, it's a mental health day, I’m having a mental health day, and who decides that and I have a problem.”