Monday, May 05, 2008 Editorials: Legislation for mothers
MOTHERS draw a lot of public sentiment like the Mother’s Day celebration set every second Sunday of May.
But a move to legislate the extension of maternity leave benefits from the current 60 days to 120 days has drawn a lot of flak, even the threat that employers may treat mothers as workplace poison if the bill gets signed into law.
Last April 29, Gabriela Women’s Party-list Representatives Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan initiated House Bill 3973 known as “An act increasing maternity leave benefits from 60 days to 120 days or four months.”
The lawmakers said the bill seeks to address the maternal and infant maternity rates in the country. The addition of another two months to the current two-month maternity leave will enable mothers to recover better from childbirth, as well as nurse longer their infant.
The International Labor Organization Convention 183 on Maternity Protection recommends 120 days as ideal for maternal recovery and infant survival.
Suspended animation
Public officials and employers’ groups warned that, if implemented, the proposal will result in more adverse effects on the employment opportunities of married women.
Critics point out that a prolonged maternity leave will necessitate the hiring of emergency workers, which will incur more cost and delays due to the hiring, orientation and training of the work substitute.
Will House Bill 3973 face the same fate as Senate Bills (SB) 769 and 794, filed by Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. in 2004 yet?
These two bills are intended to assist single mothers. SB 769 seeks to grant maternity leave benefits to pregnant female employees, regardless of marital status. This will amend Article 133 of the Labor Code, which stipulates that only married women are entitled to maternity leave, and expand the other benefits granted to single parents through the Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2000 (or Republic Act 8972).
Villar was also the proponent of SB 794 that, if passed into law, will grant single unmarried women with one or more minor dependents with a basic personal exemption of P32,000, as well as additional exemption of P8,000 for each dependent.
SB 794 will amend a provision on the National Revenue Code, which gives a basic personal exemption of P25,000 to single mothers but does not grant P8,000 for each child or dependent.
In sponsoring these bills, Villar said he wanted to free women’s restrictions in economic activity, as well as assist them in meeting their family responsibilities. “A mother is a mother whether she is single or married,” Villar was quoted by Sun.Star Cebu’s Jeanette P. Malinao in her May 8, 2005 report.
Sharing women’s burden
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), women contribute more to the economy because they work longer hours than men. In the Philippines, women’s economic production, if their home labor is factored in, exceeds men’s contribution by 10 percent, according to UNFPA data.
Given male unemployment or underemployment, women in developing countries work to support their families, whether or not they have spouses, whether or not their spouses are employed. Increasingly, women fill in many of the vacancies for part-time, emergency or contractual work. They dominate the informal sector. They take jobs though they are disadvantaged by lack of job security, lack or absence of training and career opportunities, as well as other benefits like health insurance and pension.
The UNFPA estimates that working mothers in the Philippines have a workload that increases by an average of 8.4 hours per week with the addition of every infant.
Granting expanded maternity leave and other benefits to working mothers may entail sacrifices for employers. For the security of children and long-term economy, legislation to promote mothers’ welfare will have far-reaching benefits.
