North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudu) has submitted a case to the parliament urging reforms to ensure bereaved mothers retain paid maternity leave if their newborn passes away during the six-month period.
This follows the Public Interest Law Centre's (PILC) move to challenge notices from two government offices requiring mothers to return to work the day after losing their newborn. The law firm, which takes on pro-bono cases in civil matters, said they were preparing to escalate the matter to the Employment Tribunal.
MP Ibrahim said in his submission to the Parliament that it is important to arrange paid time off for mothers on maternity leave if their infant passes away during that period.
The first case of leave being revoked came up when a mother was notified to return to work the first working day after her four month old baby passed away during the maternity leave period.
The second such case came from a government ministry. When a female staff's newborn child passed away two months after birth, she was told to return to work the following day.
Paid leave after the delivery of a living child was extended from three to six months in 7th March, 2019 after the amendment of the Civil Service Regulations.