NA body approves maternity, paternity leave bill

ISLAMABAD: A sub-committee of the National Assembly on Law and Justice on Wednesday approved the maternity and paternity leave bill, paving way for it to be tabled before the lower house of the Parliament for approval after it already sailed through the Senate, ARY NEWS reported.

According to the details, the bill titled Maternity and Paternity Leave Act 2018 was passed by the sub-committee, which approved six months’ leave for mother besides also giving a one-month paternity leave on the birth of the first child.

Extremely happy and immensely proud to share that two important bills moved by Senator @Anny_Marri have finally been passed by the NA standing committee on Law & Justice after their passage from Senate. Bills were passed after a year & half’s hard work. So proud of you 👍🏻 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/WlGM1yVtJw

— Shazia Atta Marri (@ShaziaAttaMarri) October 27, 2020

In the case of a second child, the mother would get a four-month maternity leave while the father would avail the one-month leave.

PPP MNA Shazia Atta Marri while expressing her joy over the passage of the bill from the NA standing committee, said that it would only be applicable in the federal capital Islamabad.

Earlier in January this year, the Senate passed the maternity and paternity bill, allowing three-months and six months paid leave to the employees of public and private organisations.

Tabled by Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Senator Quratulain Marri, the bill, also provides protection for workers who apply for maternity and paternity leaves, ensuring that those who apply for them cannot be terminated from their jobs.

The federal government, however, opposed the bill, saying that there was already a law to give 90-day maternity leave to female employees, while male government employees could avail 48-day leaves in a year.