Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has approved six
months maternity leave for female public servants who just gave birth
to new born babies.
The six months maternity leave
shall be for the first two babies to be delivered by any female civil
servant, while on giving birth to the third baby, the maternity leave
would be reduced to three months.
At a news conference
on Thursday at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Lagos, Southwest
Nigeria, the Head of Service, Josephine Williams, said the government
has approved 24 weeks maternity leave with full pay in the case of a
nursing mother’s first two deliveries, saying that the said leave shall
commence at least two weeks before the expected delivery date.
She
added that a male officer to whom a new baby (or babies in case of
multiple births) is born shall be entitled to 10 working days paternity
leave in relation to and at the time of his spouse’s first two
deliveries.
“Any third and subsequent deliveries by any
employee shall only attract 12 weeks maternity leave for female
officers, while the male officer shall not be entitled to paternity
leave in that circumstance.
“In other words, leave
entitlement in respect of the third and subsequent children of an
employee shall be in line with the extant (now old) maternity leave
regulations. It would be recalled that in the old dispensation, female
officers were entitled to only 12 weeks maternity leave at every point
of delivery, while male officers do not enjoy paternity leave. The 12
weeks were to be taken six weeks before and six weeks after delivery,”
she said.
According to Williams, the new leave gesture
by government was further informed by the fact that nursing mothers
leave their children in the hands of carers at such tender age of six
weeks and that one could not imagine the level of concentration to
expect from such an employee at her desk.
“However, at
six months, a baby is considered strong enough to be left in a decent
crèche for proper care having gone through close affection and nurturing
by the mother for those very important and delicate first few months of
his or her life,” she stated.
“While it is hoped that
nursing parent-employees in Lagos State Public Service would utilise
this privilege to devote fuller attention to their children, thereby
promoting emotional bonding between parent and children when it matters
the most, all public officers are again enjoined to remain dedicated and
productive in their various beats and schedules,” she added.
Williams
said the new policy took effect immediately, saying government is
appealing to other employers of labour to take a cue from this lofty
policy in order to advance a balanced family-work life.
Source:PM News
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