4 days ago
Calls for new mums to get more leave
A Thammasat University academic has backed calls to extend Thailand's maternity leave from 98 to 180 days as part of an effort to help the country tackle its declining birth rate.
Kritsada Theerakosonphong, a lecturer at Thammasat University's Faculty of Social Administration, said on Tuesday that maternity leave of 180 days would bring Thailand in line with World Health Organization (WHO) standards.
The WHO advises a minimum period matching the International Labour Organisation's convention on providing maternity leave of no less than 14 weeks and recommends the period should ideally be no less than 18 weeks.
Mr Kritsada, also adviser to the House extraordinary committee on reviewing the amended Labour Protection Bill, said the leave policy and other related childcare policies are particularly relevant in the context of the ageing society and low birth rate facing the country.
"Personally, I believe increasing privileges and welfare would give women more confidence to start a family. Society should focus on welfare to ease the decision to have children," he said.
"In 2012, there were over 300,000 childbirth claims under the Social Security scheme. Last year, the number had dropped to 220,000 or a 26% fall. This declining birth rate will shrink the future workforce," he said.
Thai labour laws currently guarantee 98 days of maternity leave, with the Senate currently reviewing a bill to raise the provision to 120 days.
Mr Kritsada said if the Senate approves the draft, it will become law, "assuming there is no political obstruction to the bill, like a house dissolution". However, he added, 120 days still falls short of the civil sector goal of 180 days.
