BOTH the House and Senate have approved an increase in women’s maternity leave, according to a women’s party-list group.
Gabriela Rep. Emmi A. de Jesus said in a statement that under the bicameral version, women can now get 105 days of paid maternity leave period for public and private-sector workers, covering every instance of pregnancy.
Women can also avail themselves of the option to extend their maternity leave for an additional 30 unpaid days, while single parents can also get an additional 15 maternity leave days.
“This is a very positive start of our #PinkOctober campaign that seeks to highlight women’s health. This is proof of women’s resounding call for lawmakers to increase the current 60-day maternity leave period for normal delivery, which is way below the international minimum standard of 98 days,” de Jesus said.
“At a time when women workers are increasingly crushed by the pressure of making ends meet amid rising prices, a longer paid maternity period is one of the few positive things that the government can enact. Pagkilala ito sa produktibong papel ng kababaihan sa ating ekonomiya [This is a recognition of the productive role women play in our economy],” she added.
Gabriela also said that under the bicameral version, violation of the provisions will incur at least P20,000 for the non-conferment of the expanded maternity leave to employees, from the original minimum penalty of P5,000 in the Senate version.
At the bicameral meeting, de Jesus said the Social Security System (SSS) should be able to cover the additional maternity benefits for female employees in the private sector without increasing the workers’ contributions by an estimated 0.3 or 0.4 percent.