Trade unions call for paid 98-day maternity, 7-day paternity leave

A coalition of 58 trade unions and worker organisations is calling for labour law reforms to include 98 days of paid maternity leave and seven days of paid paternity leave.

The Labour Law Reform Coalition said in a statement today that they are puzzled by the Human Resources Ministry's proposed amendment to the Employment Act 1955 – which increases maternity leave to 98 days, but with only 75 days being paid.

“This makes 98 days meaningless, as women workers have to return to work after 75 days to make ends meet,” it said.

This "watered-down" proposal, the coalition added, perpetuates discrimination against women and fails to address the gender gap in the workforce.

It pointed out that women occupy just 24.4 percent of key management positions in the top 100 public listed companies, and just 14 percent of seats in the Dewan Rakyat.

This lack of maternity protection will also undermine the 11th Malaysian Plan midterm review target of 59 percent female participation in the labour force by 2020.

This, the coalition believes, would require strong intervention from Putrajaya, given that female participation only increased by 0.4 percent from 2016 to 2017.

The Labour Law Reform Coalition also stressed the importance of giving fathers seven days of paternity leave.

"The coalition calls upon the government to give minimum seven-day paternity leave for Malaysian fathers in the upcoming Employment Act amendments.

"It is very important that mothers are accompanied by husbands in the first week of giving birth to babies."

The coalition said that it would work with other NGOs and trade unions to campaign for paternity leave, and urged the public to sign a Women's Aid Organisation petition on better work-life balance for families.