The people of Oxford are set to gather for the first ever UK 'parent strike',
The action, which will be held on Thursday, August 27, between 10am and midday, will see parents at Bonn Square, calling for fairer parental leave and stronger support for fathers and non-birthing partners across the country,.
Dave Harley, a dad of two from Oxford and one of the strike organisers said: "Getting that vital time off in the early weeks to bond with the baby and support each other is vital.
READ MORE: Secluded Oxfordshire home surrounded by woodland up for £2 million sale
"The pressure cooker environment of juggling work contributed to my postpartum depression - better paternity leave could help avoid this for so many mums and dads."
The event has been organised by Flex Appeal and The Dad Shift and will see thousands of people get involved around the country with protests scheduled for outside Downing Street, Holyrood and the Senedd.
Specifically the parent strikers are calling for flexible working by default and an increase of paternity leave to six weeks at 90 per cent pay.
This comes as the UK Government's parental leave review nears its final stages.
Jennifer Miller, a mum from Oxfordshire attending the strike said: "My father-in-law died two days before my first son was born whilst I was in a long labour.
"I was hospitalised for 10 days after a caesarean section.
"My partner had to drive seven hours to arrange and attend the funeral as he had no leave left, and the statutory leave he had taken had left us so out of pocket because he was the main earner.
"It was all extra stressful at a precious time.
"A few more weeks of leave would have meant the world for us - I simply can't understand why we're lagging behind the rest of Europe on this issue still, when the pressures on parents are so great."
READ MORE: Police statement amid another sexual assault probe in Oxfordshire town
The Dad Shift said that one of its polls found that 90 per cent of parents agreed that having children is the most meaningful thing they will ever do, but that six in ten say that fear of financial security puts them off having more.
Bradley Hall-Smith, a dad of one from Oxford, said: “I'm incredibly fortunate that my wife and I could make use of such a generous parental leave scheme at Oxford University -taking shared parental leave on top of this was one of the best decisions we've ever made.
"We shouldn't need to feel like we’ve won the parental leave lottery. Everyone should be entitled to decent parental leave."
Strikes will also be taking place in Belfast, Brighton, Glasgow, Newcastle and Nottingham.
Share