Quebec’s parents will soon be able to build a bank of 10 paid days off to use as they please, according to reliable sources.

The days off will be one of two flagship measures included in a bill tabled in the National Assembly by Employment Minister Francois Blais on Thursday.

The reasoning behind the bill is that a 10-day bank would make life easier for parents, who are often forced to take time off work when a child is sick.

Blais has long promised to reform the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, with a goal of facilitating a better work-life balance.

“There is a lot of possibility in this project… to adjust the parental behaviour to have flexibility and more time with their children,” said Blais.

The other measure included in the bill, already announced by Premier Philippe Couillard in February, would offer young mothers and fathers to spread their parental leave over two years.

Government officials have said their goal is to give more time and flexibility to parents in the first years after a baby is born.

Earlier this week, Labour Minister Dominique Vien tabled a bill also aimed at overhauling the Labour Code, and that included an extra week of vacation time after three years of service instead of five.

Quebec Solidaire spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said the new law doesn't go far enough in protecting workers. He said changes in technology have increased stress levels for workers who feel they must be available at all hours, even on weekends or on vacations.

Nadeau-Dubois tabled his own bill on Thursday morning. Dubbed the Right To Disconnect Act, the bill would ensure employee rest periods would be respected, with employers who violate the proposed law facing fines.

"For my parents' generation, when you were leaving the office, you were actually leaving the office," he said. "It's not true for my generation, anymore. When you leave work, you still have to work because of you have e-mails from your boss or colleague. The separation between professional life and private life is disappearing, he said.

The bill would include certain blackout periods where employees cannot be contacted.

“In more and more workplaces people are expected to be available all the time. And that's a problem. We all know that situation in which we go back to our home, we try to spend some time with our families and the phone keeps ringing, emails keep entering," he said.

 

- With a report from CTV Montreal