Pros And Cons To Paternity Leave
THERE are both pros and cons to the issue of paternity leave which is currently being discussed in Parliament and elsewhere.
As part of its efforts to promote gender equality in Namibia, the
Legal Assistance Centre has made a submission regarding the new
Labour Bill to the National Council Standing Committee on
Constitutional and Legal Affairs, which among others, proposes
public input on the question of paternity leave.
The LAC proposed that the abovementioned committee investigate
whether there is a demand for this kind of leave, and that it get
feedback from employers and employees alike as to the viability of
paternity leave.
According to the LAC, paternity leave is defined as a period of
leave from employment which enables fathers to bond with the mother
and newborn child.
In an opinion piece published in The Namibian last week, a
member of the Gender Research and Advocacy Project at the LAC
scrutinised the question of whether Namibia was ready for a concept
such as paternity leave.
Among others, in questioning the need for paternity leave, the
LAC posed a number of questions that are pertinent to raise here,
as these are the issues that need to be discussed prior to making a
decision on something that, if adopted, could have wide-ranging
consequences and even an economic impact.
Some of the questions by the LAC include the following: * would
fathers use paternity leave to help take care of the child? *
should paternity leave be limited to those men whose name appears
on the birth certificate as the father of the child? * should
paternity leave be limited to fathers who are sharing a common
household with the mother and child? * How long should paternity
leave be? * Should paternity leave be paid or unpaid? Paternity
leave has been recognised as an important means of reconciling
professional and familial lives of workers, and, in principle, it
is important to try to empower fathers to take a more active role
in the care and nurture of children.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO), according to the
LAC, did not prescribe specific guidelines for paternity leave,
which is largely left up to member countries to decide.
Many do not have laws providing for parental leave, and in
countries that do, there are usually legal conditions that must be
met beforehand.
The matter came up for discussion in Parliament this week, but
hopefully when in the public arena, there will be more considered
debate of this issue.
While Attorney General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana raised some valid
points, including whether fathers would use the leave for the
specific purpose.
She also brought up the issue of the cost to the economy.
Others, such as Swapo backbencher, Ponhele ya France, maintained
that "paternity leave be granted as often as men 'make'
children".
Such comments are not particularly helpful to a debate which is
an important one.
The LAC said that a small survey revealed almost non-existent
paternity policies in Namibia, but there are some companies,
including this newspaper, which does provide for such.
Finally, while the LAC emphasises it is up to Namibians to
decide whether the benefits of paternity leave outweigh the costs,
and economically speaking, this could be quite high, the decision
at the end of the day probably needs to be made on the basis of
what's best for the children.
The LAC proposed that the abovementioned committee investigate
whether there is a demand for this kind of leave, and that it get
feedback from employers and employees alike as to the viability of
paternity leave.According to the LAC, paternity leave is defined as
a period of leave from employment which enables fathers to bond
with the mother and newborn child.In an opinion piece published in
The Namibian last week, a member of the Gender Research and
Advocacy Project at the LAC scrutinised the question of whether
Namibia was ready for a concept such as paternity leave.Among
others, in questioning the need for paternity leave, the LAC posed
a number of questions that are pertinent to raise here, as these
are the issues that need to be discussed prior to making a decision
on something that, if adopted, could have wide-ranging consequences
and even an economic impact.Some of the questions by the LAC
include the following: * would fathers use paternity leave to help
take care of the child? * should paternity leave be limited to
those men whose name appears on the birth certificate as the father
of the child? * should paternity leave be limited to fathers who
are sharing a common household with the mother and child? * How
long should paternity leave be? * Should paternity leave be paid or
unpaid? Paternity leave has been recognised as an important means
of reconciling professional and familial lives of workers, and, in
principle, it is important to try to empower fathers to take a more
active role in the care and nurture of children.The International
Labour Organisation (ILO), according to the LAC, did not prescribe
specific guidelines for paternity leave, which is largely left up
to member countries to decide.Many do not have laws providing for
parental leave, and in countries that do, there are usually legal
conditions that must be met beforehand.The matter came up for
discussion in Parliament this week, but hopefully when in the
public arena, there will be more considered debate of this
issue.While Attorney General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana raised some
valid points, including whether fathers would use the leave for the
specific purpose.She also brought up the issue of the cost to the
economy.Others, such as Swapo backbencher, Ponhele ya France,
maintained that "paternity leave be granted as often as men 'make'
children".Such comments are not particularly helpful to a debate
which is an important one.The LAC said that a small survey revealed
almost non-existent paternity policies in Namibia, but there are
some companies, including this newspaper, which does provide for
such.Finally, while the LAC emphasises it is up to Namibians to
decide whether the benefits of paternity leave outweigh the costs,
and economically speaking, this could be quite high, the decision
at the end of the day probably needs to be made on the basis of
what's best for the children.