"Dear Yang Amat Berhormat Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak,
We, the undersigned Malaysian citizen strongly support the initiative by the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) to increase the existing paid maternity leave from 60 to 90 days.
The role of a modern woman has become more varied and challenging than, say, 30 years ago. Most women today juggle the demands of a full-time job with their traditional role of home-maker so that they help to sustain a decent standard of living.
As a home-maker, a woman bears the heavy burden of raising children, managing the household and ensuring her family’s overall wellbeing. With this in mind, the least the government should do is ensure the full recovery of a woman’s physical, emotional and mental state after delivering a child.
Many Southeast Asian nations have moved forward along with the Recommendation of the ILO Convention 103 – Maternity Protection Convention (Revised), 1952. The revised Convention 183 of 2000 considered 7 maternity protections; let’s do a regional comparison of just the basic protection:
Statutory maternity leave in Southeast Asia:
· Singapore – 112 days (16 weeks)
· Thailand – 90 days (3 months)
· Cambodia – 90 days
· Indonesia – 90 days
· Malaysia – 60 days
(Source: http://www.asianfoodworker.net/)
