Maternity Leave Provision In The New Namibian Labour Act

ILO convention on maternity Protection Provision Namibia is a member of the International Labour Organisation and is also a signatory to a number of ILO conventions.

One of the oldest conventions that that ILO adopted is Convention no 3 on Maternity Protection adopted in 1919. The Convention on maternity protection has since been revised twice with the latest revision done in 2000 and adopted in 2002.The Maternity Protection Convention was introduced in 1919 when there was a high demand for women to become active in the labour market due to the unavailability of men who had to fight during the First World War.The main aim of the Maternity Protection Convention was to promote equality for all women in the workforce and the health and safety of the mother and child.One of the aspects covered by the Maternity Protection Convention is the provision for cash benefits for women workers whilst on maternity leave.The Convention envisages that the cash benefits should be at a level which ensures that the woman can maintain herself and her child in proper conditions of health and with a suitable standard of living.The Namibia Labour law and the maternity leave provision Both the old Labour Act of 1992 and new Labour Act of 2004 protect a pregnant woman who has completed at least twelve months of ‘continuous service’ with an employer.According to both Acts, a woman is entitled to three months’ or 12 weeks’ maternity leave of which four weeks can be taken before the expected date of confinement and eight weeks after the date of confinement.According to the Labour Act of 1992, an employer is not required to provide any remuneration during maternity leave.During this period, the maternity leave benefit (income) can be claimed from the Social Security Fund, which is a general form of protection for employed people from loss of income whilst they are sick, pregnant, injured or old.The employees are only entitled to benefits if they are registered and have been contributing to the scheme.The registration levels to the Social Security Scheme are, however, very low as revealed by the Labour Force Survey of 2000.The survey revealed that out of a labour force of 541 447, only 34.2 per cent is registered, of which the number of females registered (29.3%) is lower than that of males (38.3%).The benefits are equal to 80% of the woman’s income from a minimum of N$240 to a maximum of N$2 400 a month.Statistics of the low registration of females with the Social Security Commission means that many of the female employees who get pregnant do not even benefit during their maternity leave.The reduced incomes for female employees (especially single female employees) has led to female employees using their annual leave as their maternity leave so that they do not miss out on their full salaries while on maternity leave.Again, the Labour Force Survey of 2000 revealed that incomes in Namibia are not diversified.This means that many people in Namibia do not have a secondary source of income and thus depend on only one source, which happens to be salaries and wages (48.4%), especially for people living in urban areas (73%).Thus the majority of female employees who get pregnant and have to depend on the Social Security fund can easily succumb to poverty, as they are less likely to have other sources of income to supplement their meagre salaries during their maternity leave.The concern Since the introduction of the new Labour Act of 2004, the act has received some criticism from the employers.One of the biggest concerns that employers have raised is the increased number of leave days, which changed from 24 consecutive days to 24 consecutive working days.But another particular concern that has been raised is the issue of maternity leave.The aspect that changed in the new Labour Act of 2004 is that instead of employed women having to claim benefits from Social Security, the employers are now expected to pay their female employees full remuneration during maternity leave.After payment, the employer is then expected to claim from Social Security that “part of the remuneration which constitutes the basic wage of the employee”.Furthermore, the new Labour Act also makes provision for extended maternity leave, provided a medical practitioner certifies that there were complications which arose during the pregnancy or delivery of the baby.It was hoped that the specific changes made to the new Labour Act of 2004 as stated above would deal with the above-mentioned problems that female employees faced during pregnancy.The fact that employers are now required by the new Labour Act to pay their female employees whilst they are on maternity leave has become a concern for the employers.Employers have threatened that they will not employ women, as it is too costly to do so.So this aspect of the new labour law has created a disincentive for the employment of women.Should employers enforce their threats about not employing females because of the costs involved, then all the struggles that the Namibian Government and other social partners have achieved with regard to eliminating gender discrimination will be lost.The point of increased costs payable to female employees during maternity leave makes business sense, however, the issue of pregnancy is a human rights issue of national interest and thus should not be taken lightly.Namibia should not make the mistakes that other countries have made with regard to this issue, otherwise the consequences will be adverse and expensive to rectify.For example, other developed countries are now experiencing negative population growth rates.This is because women decided to concentrate on their careers rather than have children.While these developing countries have been able to rectify this problem by offering incentives for women to reproduce, a developing country like Namibia cannot afford to embark upon such measures.The financial hardship experienced by women while on maternity leave in the absence of their full remuneration will or can create a disincentive for women to bear children.Most employers reason that it does not make sense for them to pay someone when they are not working.This makes sense, but what we need to look at is the reason why that person is not working.The concern about payment of full remuneration for women during maternity leave clearly indicates how issues affecting women are seen as trivial.How can society complain about paying a woman’s salary when a woman is performing a societal responsibility or duty? Reality check Males and females are different, aside from both having productive functions in society; females further have reproductive responsibilities that need to be fulfilled.In other words, men do not have to worry about getting pregnant and looking after children; while women do get pregnant and thus have to endure all the burden, pains and headaches that come with maternity.After the child is born, it is still a woman’s responsibility to nurse the baby and look after it.Whilst it is easier for housewives to do this, it is not easy for working women who have double responsibilities in society of both bearing children and making a contribution to the country’s economy.Possible alternatives Since the problem of maternity leave is not about the leave itself but the costs involved and the issue of pregnancy is of national interest, the burden can be shared by society.For instance, instead of making the employer pay the whole remuneration, government can, through the Social Security Fund, supplement the amount payable by employers.So, those employers who register their workers and pay the monthly membership fee would benefit by being subsidised.This will create an incentive in making employers register their employees, thus dealing with the low registration rates of social security membership by employees.Another alternative would be for Government to introduce incentives such as tax holidays and others to those employers who employ more females or who show definite initiatives in promoting the employment female employees.Conclusion Namibian working women are faced with the biggest cha
llenge, that of having to make sure that employers do not win and get the law changed with regards to the maternity leave provisions.The threat that has been made about the employability of women after the implementation of the new Labour Act of 2004 is a serious threat, especially towards the hard-won rights that women have achieved with regard to gender equality in the workplace.This threat also points to the argument that has been made by many gender analysts that women’s issues are still taken lightly in many societies and that is why women’s reproductive and productive duties tends to be undervalued.The fact that the Minister of Labour came out openly and spoke against any employers who discriminate against women in employment is a good sign that the Namibian Government is committed to promoting women’s rights in the workplace and in Namibian society.The Convention on maternity protection has since been revised twice with the latest revision done in 2000 and adopted in 2002.The Maternity Protection Convention was introduced in 1919 when there was a high demand for women to become active in the labour market due to the unavailability of men who had to fight during the First World War.The main aim of the Maternity Protection Convention was to promote equality for all women in the workforce and the health and safety of the mother and child.One of the aspects covered by the Maternity Protection Convention is the provision for cash benefits for women workers whilst on maternity leave.The Convention envisages that the cash benefits should be at a level which ensures that the woman can maintain herself and her child in proper conditions of health and with a suitable standard of living.The Namibia Labour law and the maternity leave provision Both the old Labour Act of 1992 and new Labour Act of 2004 protect a pregnant woman who has completed at least twelve months of ‘continuous service’ with an employer.According to both Acts, a woman is entitled to three months’ or 12 weeks’ maternity leave of which four weeks can be taken before the expected date of confinement and eight weeks after the date of confinement.According to the Labour Act of 1992, an employer is not required to provide any remuneration during maternity leave.During this period, the maternity leave benefit (income) can be claimed from the Social Security Fund, which is a general form of protection for employed people from loss of income whilst they are sick, pregnant, injured or old.The employees are only entitled to benefits if they are registered and have been contributing to the scheme.The registration levels to the Social Security Scheme are, however, very low as revealed by the Labour Force Survey of 2000.The survey revealed that out of a labour force of 541 447, only 34.2 per cent is registered, of which the number of females registered (29.3%) is lower than that of males (38.3%).The benefits are equal to 80% of the woman’s income from a minimum of N$240 to a maximum of N$2 400 a month.Statistics of the low registration of females with the Social Security Commission means that many of the female employees who get pregnant do not even benefit during their maternity leave.The reduced incomes for female employees (especially single female employees) has led to female employees using their annual leave as their maternity leave so that they do not miss out on their full salaries while on maternity leave. Again, the Labour Force Survey of 2000 revealed that incomes in Namibia are not diversified.This means that many people in Namibia do not have a secondary source of income and thus depend on only one source, which happens to be salaries and wages (48.4%), especially for people living in urban areas (73%).Thus the majority of female employees who get pregnant and have to depend on the Social Security fund can easily succumb to poverty, as they are less likely to have other sources of income to supplement their meagre salaries during their maternity leave.The concern Since the introduction of the new Labour Act of 2004, the act has received some criticism from the employers.One of the biggest concerns that employers have raised is the increased number of leave days, which changed from 24 consecutive days to 24 consecutive working days.But another particular concern that has been raised is the issue of maternity leave.The aspect that changed in the new Labour Act of 2004 is that instead of employed women having to claim benefits from Social Security, the employers are now expected to pay their female employees full remuneration during maternity leave.After payment, the employer is then expected to claim from Social Security that “part of the remuneration which constitutes the basic wage of the employee”.Furthermore, the new Labour Act also makes provision for extended maternity leave, provided a medical practitioner certifies that there were complications which arose during the pregnancy or delivery of the baby.It was hoped that the specific changes made to the new Labour Act of 2004 as stated above would deal with the above-mentioned problems that female employees faced during pregnancy.The fact that employers are now required by the new Labour Act to pay their female employees whilst they are on maternity leave has become a concern for the employers.Employers have threatened that they will not employ women, as it is too costly to do so.So this aspect of the new labour law has created a disincentive for the employment of women.Should employers enforce their threats about not employing females because of the costs involved, then all the struggles that the Namibian Government and other social partners have achieved with regard to eliminating gender discrimination will be lost.The point of increased costs payable to female employees during maternity leave makes business sense, however, the issue of pregnancy is a human rights issue of national interest and thus should not be taken lightly.Namibia should not make the mistakes that other countries have made with regard to this issue, otherwise the consequences will be adverse and expensive to rectify.For example, other developed countries are now experiencing negative population growth rates.This is because women decided to concentrate on their careers rather than have children.While these developing countries have been able to rectify this problem by offering incentives for women to reproduce, a developing country like Namibia cannot afford to embark upon such measures.The financial hardship experienced by women while on maternity leave in the absence of their full remuneration will or can create a disincentive for women to bear children.Most employers reason that it does not make sense for them to pay someone when they are not working.This makes sense, but what we need to look at is the reason why that person is not working.The concern about payment of full remuneration for women during maternity leave clearly indicates how issues affecting women are seen as trivial.How can society complain about paying a woman’s salary when a woman is performing a societal responsibility or duty? Reality check Males and females are different, aside from both having productive functions in society; females further have reproductive responsibilities that need to be fulfilled.In other words, men do not have to worry about getting pregnant and looking after children; while women do get pregnant and thus have to endure all the burden, pains and headaches that come with maternity.After the child is born, it is still a woman’s responsibility to nurse the baby and look after it.Whilst it is easier for housewives to do this, it is not easy for working women who have double responsibilities in society of both bearing children and making a contribution to the country’s economy. Possible alternatives Since the problem of maternity leave is not about the leave itself but the costs involved and the issue of pregnancy is of national interest, the burden can be shared by society.For instance, instead of making the employer pay the whole remuneration, government can, through the Social Security Fund, supplement the amount payable by employers.So, those employer
s who register their workers and pay the monthly membership fee would benefit by being subsidised.This will create an incentive in making employers register their employees, thus dealing with the low registration rates of social security membership by employees.Another alternative would be for Government to introduce incentives such as tax holidays and others to those employers who employ more females or who show definite initiatives in promoting the employment female employees. Conclusion Namibian working women are faced with the biggest challenge, that of having to make sure that employers do not win and get the law changed with regards to the maternity leave provisions.The threat that has been made about the employability of women after the implementation of the new Labour Act of 2004 is a serious threat, especially towards the hard-won rights that women have achieved with regard to gender equality in the workplace.This threat also points to the argument that has been made by many gender analysts that women’s issues are still taken lightly in many societies and that is why women’s reproductive and productive duties tends to be undervalued.The fact that the Minister of Labour came out openly and spoke against any employers who discriminate against women in employment is a good sign that the Namibian Government is committed to promoting women’s rights in the workplace and in Namibian society.