FIRST read the article below. See their point of view.

HR managers snub 90 days maternity leave plan

By Boo Su-Lyn

First published in The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 – Human resource (HR) managers have rejected the National Union of Bank Employee (NUBE)’s campaign for 90 days maternity leave in the public and private sectors.

NUBE launched the campaign last March to increase Malaysia’s current policy of 60 days maternity leave to 90 days, citing the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention which recommends not less than 14 weeks of maternity leave.

“No, I think 60 days maternity is enough,” said Siti Salmiah recently, a senior HR manager in a management company.

“60 days is sufficient for recovery… sufficient to look for alternative plans to care for the child.”

For full report, click here.

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To begin, every single country in the developed world has regulations providing for more maternity leave than Malaysia. Perhaps that's a given. The reason thrown around by the bosses is always: "They're developed mah."

Okay.

Now check this out. Of the African countries, Algeria provides 14 weeks, Angola 90 days, Ghana (which we always draw as reference when making peer comparisons) 14 weeks. Even laughing-stock Zimbabwe provides 90 days and Somalia 14 weeks. Ditto for many exotic-sounding countries in the continent like Burkino Faso (14 weeks) and Djibouti (14 weeks).

Of all the African countries (49 in total), we fare only better than Egypt (50 days), Libya (50 days) and Tunisia (30 days). We are on par with Eritrea and Mozambique. Great company eh.

Latin America? Every single country in that continent - from Brazil to Grenada - provides for more maternity leave than Malaysia. The odd one out is Bolivia, which shares the same number of leave days.

Closer to home, only the Philippines matches the 60-day maternity leave offered by Malaysia. Every other neighbour offers more. Yes this includes Myanmar (12 weeks) and Laos (90 days).

In Asia, only Lebanon, Qatar, Nepal and the UAE have fewer days of maternity leave.

The point is clear: An overwhelming number of countries around the world provide better maternity leave than Malaysia. Let's not be fooled here by the opinions of 'experts'. It is not a privileged badge of the developed nations.

It is simply a fundamental acknowledgment that motherhood is important. And if you want women to remain an equal strength in the workforce, you first have to respect the mother and the child.

You have to respect family.

For complete list, download the pdf file: Appendix B: International comparison of maternity leave benefits