The nation 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 Tuesday.
The first four months of leave would be fully paid, while the fifth and sixth months would be paid at 75%.
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% by the end of his term this October.
The latest data showed that about 22% of Indonesians under five years old were stunted at the end of 2022, lower than 24% 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’s 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 don’t comply, he added.
The new rule fell short of the International Labor Organization’s recommendation that the minimum maternity leave should be 18 weeks.
The law also gave new fathers a maximum five days of leave, from two days previously, and the duty to provide nutrition for the mothers and children. — Bloomberg
