Proposal for both husband and wife to take maternity leave for a total of 7-8 months

On the afternoon of November 10, the National Assembly discussed the draft Population Law in the hall. The draft proposes many preferential policies to maintain the replacement fertility rate, in the context of the declining fertility rate in Vietnam.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga, Hai Phong City delegation

PHOTO: GIA HAN

Proposal for husband to take long leave to take care of children

One of the proposed policies is to increase maternity leave for the second child, giving women an additional month off.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga (Hai Phong City delegation) commented that the above policy will receive support from many mothers who have been, are, and will be mothers; but it still needs careful consideration.

Ms. Nga analyzed that when extending maternity leave for female employees, businesses will tend to hesitate to recruit or assign female employees to important positions due to concerns about work interruptions and additional costs. This regulation can unintentionally become a barrier for female employees and increase the risk of gender discrimination in recruitment.

Not to mention, long maternity leave can make women who tend to value their careers worry about promotion opportunities and work performance evaluation, thus making them afraid to have a second child.

For a comprehensive policy, Ms. Nga recommends that regulations should be open, with distinction between occupational groups, industries, and regions before application. Instead of just focusing on extending maternity leave, it is necessary to expand more substantial support policies to reduce the burden on them, for example, developing a system of nurseries and childcare facilities from 6 months old, creating conditions for women to return to work earlier if they need to.

Notably, the female delegate suggested that it is necessary to change the mindset in policy making, and that it should be regulated that both husband and wife can take long leave to take care of a newborn child, instead of only regulating that women take long leave as is currently the case.

"The total time off for both husband and wife should not exceed 7-8 months, depending on the family's choice of allocation," Ms. Nga suggested, and said that this approach both ensures children are cared for and promotes sharing of responsibilities between father and mother, reducing pressure on women in the postpartum period.

Ms. Nga further emphasized that with the support of equipment, tools for pumping, storing and preserving milk, mothers do not necessarily have to be with their children constantly but can still ensure that their children are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life.

Delegate To Van Tam

PHOTO: GIA HAN

Should support women to give birth to 2 children after 35 years old

The draft law also proposes financial support for giving birth to ethnic minority women; women who give birth to two children before the age of 35; women in localities with low birth rates...

Commenting on the above content, delegate To Van Tam (Quang Ngai delegation) requested clarification of the scientific and practical basis for financial support for women who give birth to two children before the age of 35.

According to the delegate, the policy’s goal is to encourage giving birth during childbearing age to ensure population quality and human resources for the future. However, this regulation is unreasonable and unfair because it creates discrimination between women who give birth to two children before and after the age of 35.

"Many women want to have children before the age of 35 but cannot do so due to objective factors such as economic conditions, unstable jobs or difficulties in finding a partner, leading to having children later; if they have two children after the age of 35, they will not receive support," Mr. Tam said, and considered this unfair.

The delegate from Quang Ngai proposed that it is necessary to ensure the consistency and fairness of policies, and to expand support to all women who give birth to two children without age limits, while also adding solutions to protect the health of mothers and children.

He also proposed to stipulate in the law the principle of supporting women who give birth to two children, but give the right to decide on the specific level of support to each locality in accordance with actual conditions.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-xuat-2-vo-chong-cung-duoc-nghi-thai-san-tong-cong-7-8-thang-185251110153455344.htm