JAKARTA: Indonesia is extending paid maternity leave for mothers who face challenging health conditions, as the government seeks to reduce stunting among children.
Mothers with a doctor’s note showing that they or their newborn children face health issues are entitled to a maximum of six months of leave, while all new mothers can get three months, according to the law passed on June 4.
The first four months of leave would be fully paid, while the remaining months would be paid at 75 per cent.
Civil rights groups have sought to extend fully paid maternity leave for all mothers to six months, from three, arguing that the change would help President Joko Widodo reach his goal of reducing childhood malnutrition to 14 per cent by the end of his term this October.
The latest data showed that about 22 per cent of Indonesians under five years old were stunted at the end of 2022, lower than 24 per cent in the previous year.
Indonesia’s fertility rate has also been declining along with the rest of the world, reaching 2.2 births per woman this year or nearing the so-called replacement rate of 2.1 that is needed to keep the population from shrinking.
“We wanted to give the full six months of leave for mothers without conditions, but the challenge is some companies may not want to hire women. So this is a fair deal for all parties,” said Indra Gunawan, the acting deputy for gender equality at the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment. Employers would be subject to administrative sanctions if they do not comply, he added.
The new rule fell short of the International Labor Organisation’s recommendation that the minimum maternity leave should be 18 weeks.
The law also gave new fathers a maximum of five days of leave, from two days previously, and the duty to provide nutrition for the mothers and children. The government is considering giving civil servants up to 60 days of paternity leave under a proposed rule. - Bloomberg
