The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice has approved a bill allowing one-month paternity leave to fathers on the birth of their child.
According to reports, the bill says the mother will get a six-month leave and the father will be eligible for a leave of one-month on the birth of their first child. On the birth of the second child, the mother will get a four-month leave and the father will get a one-month leave.
The father will also get a one-month leave for their third child’s birth and the mother will get a three-month leave.
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The bill that will be applicable only in Islamabad also states that the father will be able to get paternity leaves for the birth of the first three children only.
“The law will apply to all government and non-government institutions in the federal capital,” said Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmaker Shazia Marri.
Taking to Twitter, the lawmaker from Sanghar said the bill was moved by Senator Quratulain Marri, her sister, a year ago.
“Extremely happy and immensely proud to share that two important bills moved by Senator Quratulain Marri have finally been passed by the NA standing committee on Law & Justice after their passage from Senate,” she wrote.
Under the laws applicable to the provinces of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, mothers are granted a maternity leave of 12 weeks. In contrast, Sindh allows for a maternity leave of 16 weeks.
According to Section 4 of West Pakistan Maternity Benefit Ordinance, 1958, the maternity leave is awarded with full pay. The qualifying condition is that the women must be working in enterprise at least four months prior to the date of delivery of her child.
The Senate had in January this year passed the Maternity and Paternity Leave Bill, 2018, which made it mandatory for employers to grant paid maternity and paternity leave to employees.
