THE Center for Women's Resources (CWR) lauded the House Representatives who have genuinely pushed forward the agenda of women in the Congress and have remained steadfast in fighting for the passage of House Bill 4113 or the 100-Day Maternity Leave Bill.
This bill seeks to increase maternity leave of government and private female employees for up to 100 days and can be extended to another 30 unpaid days.
"The passage of the 100-Day Maternity Bill in Congress is a win for the working women and a step forward to improving maternal health care, at least for the working sector," said CWR executive director Jojo Guan.
"We genuinely hope that this bill will be signed into law by President Duterte," she added.
Guan notes that while this bill, when enacted, will provide an enabling environment for working mothers to care for their newly-born babies, this still does not guarantee full protection of working women.
"Apart from the absence of penalty for employers who do not implement or violate the provisions of the Bill, it also does not provide protection for pregnant workers who may be discriminated against by the employers. So we challenge the Bicameral committee to address those loopholes before it's too late," Guan explains.
Guan also adds that while many women workers will benefit from this Bill, reality remains that many women are hampered by job insecurity and low wages brought about by widespread practice of contractualization both in government and private sectors.
Using the records of Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES), CWR has reported that since 2010, the number of those employed in permanent jobs has gained 4.43 percent only while the seasonal or temporary workers have posted a 16.35 percent increase and those employed on a daily or weekly basis have increased by 72.87 percent.
"Given the realities of contractualization and unsafe and indecent working conditions in the Philippines, the road to improving the conditions of working women still has a long way to go, but this 100-day Maternity Leave Bill can be a good start," Guan says. (PR)