Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas - JERIT

Source: TheMalayMail

KUALA LUMPUR: Increasing the maternity leave period to 90 days is unlikely to see workers getting pregnant more frequently.

Touching on the possible impact on work productivity due to longer maternity leave, Women's Development Collective executive director Maria Chin Abdullah said the extra leave is, in fact, an invaluable long-term investment for the nation.

"We have to admit that for the majority of our population, there is a need for both the men and women to work  to sustain a family. Such benefits are needed not only for the mother's health but for the growing child."

She was responding to a statement by Human Resource Minister Datuk S. Subramaniam that the government  has no plans to increase the maternity leave period, despite a call by the National Union of Bank Employees (Nube) for the ministry to match the practice in other Asean countries to ensure women are fully recovered from childbirth before resuming work.

Maria said since Nube's memorandum did not manage to persuade the government to change its stance on the issue, the best way to continue the campaign is through public petition now being mooted by the union.

Nube is going ahead with their 'signature' campaign after its general-secretary J. Solomon said they were  merely championing the rights of female employees in Malaysia and were appalled by the minister's response.

"The minister got it all wrong. We are just being rational about the protection of women workers with regard to  maternity leave.  We want the government to be aware that many sections of labour laws here are obsolete and adverse.

"One such law is the Employment Act 1955, which has a section pertaining to maternity protection that needs  to be reviewed, particularly on maternity leave.

"Asking for 90 days is reasonable and we just want the maternity leave in this country to match our neighbours like Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines, who provide a 90-day leave period."

Meanwhile, Malaysian Trade Union Congress women's committee chairperson Noorlaila Aslah said that it was  insensitive of the government not to look into the welfare of female employees in the country.

"There are countries where the maternity leave is up to 120 days and some women groups are fighting for this  period to be extended.

"Here, all we're asking is for the maternity leave to be extended to 90 days. "How are we going to encourage more women employees to join the workforce if these issues are not looked into?"

Noorlaila said the first three months of an infant's life is where time with the mother is most needed and many  positive psychological traits are forged during this time.