Pregnant Employees’ Rights Are Not Just About the Maternity Leave

Pregnant employees’ rights are not just about the maternity leave. What else is there? Check this out to find out more.

When it comes to the rights of female workers, pregnancy pops out as one of the main issues. Generally, many people still believe that getting the right amount of pregnancy leave (between 3 to 6 months from before to after the labor) is already enough.

However, it turns out that pregnant employees’ rights are not just about the maternity leave.

To be clearer, here are the points about how pregnant employees’ rights are not just about the maternity leave:

1. Maternity leave.

Article 82 of The Indonesian Labor Law Number 13/2013 regulates the right of maternity leave and childbirth. Female workers are entitled to rest for 1.5 months before delivery and 1.5 months after delivery. However, for this right, the worker's family is obliged to inform the company of the birth of her child within seven days of giving birth and to provide proof of birth or birth certificate to the company within six months of giving birth.

2. Rights for protection during pregnancy.

Article 76 paragraph 2 of The Indonesian Labor Law Number 13/2003 states that employers are prohibited from employing pregnant women which can be harmful to their pregnancy and themselves. Therefore, companies are required to ensure protection for pregnant female workers, because pregnant workers are in a very vulnerable condition. Therefore, they should be exempted from excessive workloads.

3. The right of maternity leave due to miscarriage.

Workers who experience miscarriage also have the right to maternity leave for 1.5 months accompanied by a certificate obstetrician. This is stipulated in article 82 paragraph 2 of The Indonesian Labor Law Number 13/2003.

4. Labor or childbirth costs.

Under The Act No. 3 of 1992 on social security of labor, companies employing more than 10 workers or paying wages of at least Rp 1,000,000/month shall include employees in the Jamsostek (insurance) program. One of the Jamsostek programs is health care insurance that covers the examination and the cost of childbirth.

5. Breastfeeding rights.

The Article 83 of the same Labor Law Number 13/2003 provides that breastfeeding workers are at least given time to breastfeed or to pump breastmilk during working hours.

At least some of the rights of pregnant female workers should be understood by the company, namely the right to rest, the right to use the toilet more than usual, the right to leave due to the pregnancy’s side effect which affects their physical condition, and the right not to get stigmatized.

(However, the latter part has been a constant argument in Indonesia, due to the moral value, like the issues of pregnant female workers without legal present partners or husbands.)

The right to rest, to drink, to use toilets and leave when physical conditions are deemed to be impossible to work, are closely related to the changing physical condition of a pregnant woman. Her body will feel exhausted more quickly, experience nausea or morning sickness, hormonal discomfort, and so on, including other conditions that have the potential to cause miscarriage.

Based on these facts, these are why pregnant employees’ rights are not just about the maternity leave itself. It is a whole lot more than that.

Reference: https://bplawyers.co.id/en/2018/07/24/interesting-facts-the-annual-leave-of-employees-in-indonesia/