Coordinating Minister For Human Development And Culture: 6 Months Of Childbirth Leave Needs The Availability Of The Business World

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy assessed that maternity leave of up to a maximum of six months in the Maternal and Child Welfare Act (UU KIA) requires the willingness of all parties, especially the business world.

"So, (the right of leave for childbirth) does require the willingness of all parties, especially business actors to accept gracefully," said Muhadjir when met at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, July 9.

Muhadjir's statement was in response to the business world which was considering reducing female employees in the company recruitment process.

The discourse arose, because the KIA Law in one of its articles provided facilities for maternity leave rights for mothers with worker status for a maximum of six months, so as to reduce work productivity.

According to Muhadjir, the policy certainly does not take sides with the business world, but the government assesses that the right to take maternity leave for workers' mothers aims to prepare Indonesia's golden generation.

On the other hand, Muhadjir also acknowledged that the policy would certainly reduce the productivity of working mothers in the company's place of shelter.

"This is a more 'urgent' goal than short-term interests. I know it will reduce productivity. But productivity can not only be measured from working hours, right, but also the level of intensity and quality when he works," said Muhadjir.

Muhadjir said maternity leave for breastfeeding mothers would also make the mother work more optimally, because children grow up in direct parental care.

Law Number 4 of 2024 concerning Maternal and Child Welfare in Phase of the First Thousand Days of Life signed by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in Jakarta on July 2, 2024.

The law contains a number of mothers' rights who are workers, one of which relates to the right to leave after giving birth for a maximum of six months.

Article 4 paragraph 3 contains the minimum leave right of the first three months and the maximum of the following three months if the mother has special conditions, such as experiencing health problems, post-herbaligning complications, or children who are born with health problems.