MTUC tells private firms not to resist 90 days maternity leave / MTUC gesa swasta laksana syor cuti bersalin 90 hari

 The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has told employers not to be defiant against Putrajaya’s proposal for women workers in the private sector to be granted 90 days maternity leave.

MTUC secretary-general J Solomon said companies should not be selective and “think primitively” on the issue of workers’ welfare.

“Workers also contribute to our GDP (gross domestic product),” he said.

“MTUC sees no reason for bosses to resist giving 90 days leave for mothers,” he told FMT

He said certain firms were already giving maternity leave of between six months and a year, with some offering full salary payment, and others giving partial payment and non-payment options.

Solomon said this in response to a Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) statement yesterday in Sin Chew Daily that companies may have to spend around RM20 billion if the 90 days leave was made mandatory.

“We estimate that companies have to spend about RM10 billion for the cost of maternity leave and another RM10 billion to hire temporary workers to replace those on leave,” MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan was quoted as saying.

He added that an average of 250,000 women employees went on maternity leave each year.

Solomon also said MEF should focus on reducing the number of foreign workers, which is said to incur an average yearly outflow of RM34 billion from Malaysia.

“RM34 billion is being remitted by the documented workers out of the country. The figure could be more if we take into consideration the undocumented workers as well,” he said.

In tabling Budget 2018 in the Dewan Rakyat on Friday, Prime Minister Najib Razak had proposed maternity leave for the private sector to be increased from 60 days to 90 days as implemented by the public sector.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rohani Abdul Karim had said a longer maternity leave would allow women to be more productive in the workplace as they would have longer time to recover from childbirth.

“The more we take care of them, the more they will give back,” she said.

MTUC gesa swasta laksana syor cuti bersalin 90 hari