Polemic Of Father Leave For ASN: Gives Benefits To Families, But Entrepreneurs Have Protested It

Father's leave is considered to be able to increase father and son's bullying from the start. (Pixabay)

JAKARTA The father's leave plan for State Civil Apparatus (ASN) received mixed responses. On the one hand, father's leave is believed to have various benefits, but on the other hand this discourse was opposed by entrepreneurs.

The government is working on the Draft Government Regulation (RPP) on Management of State Civil Apparatus (ASN) as the implementing rule of Law No. 2023 concerning ASN. One of the points that will be regulated is the right of mentoring leave for male ASN whose wife gave birth.

"The government will grant leave rights to husbands whose wives give birth or miscarriage. The leave to accompany the wife who gave birth is the right of the male ASN which is regulated and guaranteed by the state," said the Minister for Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB), Abdullah Azwar Anas, quoted by Antara.

Previously, leave for male ASN whose wife gave birth was not specifically regulated, unlike maternity leave for female ASN. According to Anas, father's leave rights are the aspirations of many parties and currently the government is asking for input from relevant stakeholders.

Father's leave has actually been a discussion for a long time. Previously in 2022, the DPR RI ratified the Draft Law on Mother and Child (RUU KIA) as the DPR Initiative Bill. In this MCH Bill, one of the points that the DPR encourages is maternity leave for workers for six months.

The DPR also initiated a 40-day father's leave to accompany his wife who had just given birth. In addition, the husband also had the opportunity to take a week off for an emergency like when his wife miscarried.

Father's leave is also one of the flagship programs for presidential candidate pair number one Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar. This was conveyed by Anies when he was present at the Anies Desak campaign in South Jakarta, Thursday (18/1/2024).

"Nahcuti gave birth to the husbands for usually only two days, in various places, we want to change it for 40 days for the husband," he said.

Wacana terkait cuti ayah ini yang kembali menjadi pembahas pernah mendapat penolakan dari sejumlah kalangan industri, termasuk Asosiasi Entrepreneur Indonesia (APINDO).

When the KIA Bill was discussed by the DPR two years ago and came to the public's attention, APINDO resmally submitted a response letter regarding the increasing right of leave for pregnant women and childbirth, as well as a discourse on father's leave for 40 days.

There are several reasons behind APINDO's objection to the KIA Bill, one of which is the shrinking job opportunity for women.

"The BPS data in 2021 shows that the Women's Labor Force Participation Rate (TPAK) of 53.34 percent is still very far behind compared to the male TPAK of 82.27 percent," wrote APINDO in his letter.

"With the addition of time off, giving birth to six months and the opportunity for the husband to accompany his wife until 40 (fourty) days, it is feared that it will be counter-productive to efforts to expand women's job opportunities."

Not only about father's leave for 40 days, the right to leave birth to his wife for six months as regulated in the KIA Bill is also said to be burdensome for entrepreneurs. According to APINDO, entrepreneurs need to spend more money because while still providing salaries for female employees who are on leave, the company also needs to spend additional money to support other workers who fill the void. It is feared that this will actually affect the level of women's participation in the business world.

Back to the government's plan to grant father's leave rights to ASN. Despite the controversy, on the one hand, father's leave to accompany his wife to give birth has a myriad of benefits.

Child, adolescent and family psychologist Sani Budiant welcomed the government's plan to grant father leave rights to ASN. According to Sani, father leave has a positive impact, not only on wives but also on children who have just been born.

Sani believes that men who accompany the process of giving birth to their wives and participating in caring for newborns will create a more responsible feeling and establish close bonds or bonds in a family.

"Husband support when a wife comes is very important, because when critical time comes, wives usually look for people they trust, who can support mentally, and this is usually obtained in couples, then parents," Sani told VOI.

"So, the idea from the government is very good. With my husband playing a role from the beginning accompanying giving birth, seeing how the birth process is, there will be a sense of respect, responsibility, and commitment. In addition, the relationship between father and son is also closer because it was built from the start," he added.

According to a number of studies, paternity leave or known as father's leave does have a number of benefits for the family. Quoting Mc Kinsey there are at least five benefits of father's leave. Starting from strengthening a husband and wife's relationship, distributing equal responsibilities, getting ties with children, helping a partner's career and family finances, and finally men will feel more fit and productive after undergoing father's leave.

Men who spend time with their children report an increased happiness and satisfaction that may also occur at work, Mc Kinsey wrote.

In a study in 2018, 60 percent of men described parenting hours as very meaningful. The study also found that many fathers claimed to be more productive, energetic, and motivated to continue working in their companies after taking father's leave.

Fathers have an important role in parenting and provide support to wives who have just given birth. Although considered controversial for some, the idea of a father's leave for ASN deserves appreciation. It's just a matter of how much it applies, because until now how long the leave is still being discussed.

Member of the Independent Team of National Bureaucratic Reform (TIRBN) of the Ministry of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform (KemenPANRB), Eva Kusuma Sundari, believes that father's leave will have a positive impact on family welfare. Regarding the length of time off, according to Eva, it can adapt to family flexibility.

"If there are parents and family, maybe it doesn't have to be up to 6 months, then those who are born healthy may have been enough for 15 days," he said.