Manchester will join 10 other regions in the UK in staging protests against the poor treatment of mothers and families later this month.
The campaign, organised by the charity Pregnant Then Screwed, is demanding affordable childcare of good quality for all, flexible working as a default and properly paid maternity and paternity leave.
They are leading this Halloween themed march on October 29 to show how frightening the situation is, with the UK having the second most expensive childcare system in the world and the third worst ranking maternity pay in Europe, according to PTS.
CEO Joeli Brearley, who founded the charity after experiencing pregnancy discrimination, said: “It just seems like absolute insanity to me that in 2022 we still don’t have a system that fully works for women and I know that if we did we would all benefit from it.”
This situation is being compounded with the cost of living crisis, as the cost of childcare has increased by at least 5% in the past few months and statutory maternity pay is at a low of £156 a week.
Brearley said the recent mini budget made it very clear the government neither understands nor cares about the challenges mothers are experiencing.
She said: “We’re heading to a place where women are not able to take time out to recover from the birth of their babies because of the cost of living crisis and the lack of consideration for people surviving on £156 a week – and that will have long term implications.”
This comes as in March 2022, PTS published a study of over 27,000 parents of young children, finding that a shocking 62% found childcare prices to be the same as their rent/ mortgage, a figure that rose to 73% for single parents and full time workers.
The protest will have guest speakers such as Helen Bryce; founder of the Guilty Mothers Club, award winning writer and comedian Katie Mulgrew, and poet/author Lemn Sissay.
More than 10,000 people are taking part by attending nationwide, including Walthamstow’s MP Stella Creasy, who had her baby banned from parliament in November 2021, after bringing the three-month-old into the House of Commons due to a lack of childcare options and no maternity cover.
Brearley added: “We want everybody to come to the march. That’s the key thing and make as much noise as possible.”
She urged those wanting to take part to @pregnantthenscrewed on Twitter, as well as signing up to their newsletter and signing petitions.
For more details, visit Pregnantthenscrewed.com and Brearley’s book of the same title.
