LETTER | The Association for Community and Dialogue (ACID) welcomes the Pakatan Harapan government’s decision to increase the maternity leave to 90 days.
The government’s decision is in line with the preamble of ILO Convention 183, in which considering the circumstances of women workers and the need to provide protection for pregnancy, are the shared responsibility of both the government and society.
This is also in line with the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979).
It is hoped there would also be a decision on paternity leave, which would bring Malaysia to a new trajectory of labour standards in line with shared prosperity.
The vision of shared prosperity cannot be separated from enhancing labour standards.
While the government has taken a progressive stand on maternity leave, it is vital to look at the nature of debates lately regarding the participation of women workforce in the country.
The fundamental debates involving women has been centred around the economy, where pregnancy is seen as an obstacle for women participation in the workforce.
Some analysts are suggesting that women be given full freedom to their bodies, by providing contraceptive solutions.
These entail the greater availability of birth control processes and abortions with the objective of getting rid of unwanted pregnancy.
Such reasoning is flawed because the end seems to be purely economic rather than human.
Encouraging a contraceptive culture has a wider social-economic impact which would affect the well-being of the nation in the long run.
What is clearly missing in this notion is about the sacredness of life that sustains future social-economic growth of the country.
It is the focus on human development which would bring greater economic prosperity.
This entails raising the labour standards that does not view women’s care for the newborn child as entirely separated from productivity goals. Strong families are the backbone of a stronger economy.
While contraceptive solutions will help women participate in the workforce, it would not help to build a future generation to replace the older generation of workers.
One has to look to countries like Europe, where low birth rates have compelled the migration of foreigners for employment, resulting in deep-seated anti-migrant politics in those countries.
The average birth rate in the European Union is 1.6, well below the 2.1 live births per woman needed to sustain a population and the global average of 2.4.
By encouraging a contraceptive culture, there will be no available human resources to care for the elderly and a dwindling labour force that would not sustain economic growth in terms of consumption and future of work.
In today’s digital economic landscape, there are various means of working.
In this context, talent has been scarce. Therefore, it is vital to take an open progressive and a broader approach in embracing the participation of women in the workforce without viewing pregnancy as an obstacle.
The key is to focus on human development that centres on human beings rather than profits.
This entails a competent and corrupt-free government able to channel valuable resources for human and social development purposes.
A human-centred development that respects life brings in sustainable profits in the long run, unlike the contraceptive culture that deprives the country of future growth and stability.
The writer is secretary, Association for Community and Dialogue.