The Senate has passed the Maternity and Paternity Leave Bill, 2018, which calls for a paid leave of 6 and 3 months for maternity and paternity respectively.
PPP’s Quratulain Marri proposed the bill in the upper house of the Parliament. While the bill was passed with a majority, senators from the ruling party, PTI, opposed the bill.
The proposed bill, which if passed in the National Assembly, will become effective for all public and private sector organizations of the federal capital territory.
The employees of every establishment shall be provided six-month paid maternity and three-months paternity leave as and when applied by employees, separately from their leave account, commencing from the date as applied by the applicant in the application and supported by a medical certificate.
Minister for Economic Affairs, Hammad Azhar, didn’t like the idea of a new bill saying that the current law gives a 90-day maternity leave to female employees whereas the male employees in the public sector can avail a total of 48 leaves in a year.
He said that 3-months paternity leave is a little too much, suggesting the lawmakers to reduce it to 15 days.
The proposed bill aims to give fathers much-needed break from work to be with their families in times of need. New parents can also get additional unpaid leave of up to one month, as per the proposed bill.
Do you think the law should be passed and implemented in all public and private institutions? Let us know in the comments section.