Sir, after observing two weeks of debate in this house, I can sense that there is great passion in this house to promote work life balance and other pro-family benefits.
In this light, I am therefore proposing that the MOM consider legislating paternity leave of not more than 5 days a year for our fathers. We all agree that fathers play a crucial role in a child’s development particularly in the formative years and in a small measure we send a powerful signal that we acknowledge the role of both parents for a strong and stable family.
Sir, if we provide paternity leave to our fathers, we will not be alone in doing so. In Norway, new fathers are allowed four weeks of paid leave after their baby is born and they can also request for another 12 months of unpaid leave. Their employers are obliged to re-employ them after that. This seems to have reaped some benefits. It was reported that Norway’s birth rate has stopped declining since the introduction of this leave five years ago. Since 2001, the fertility rate in Norway has been 1.75 children per woman, higher than the European average of around 1.5. With a population of around 4.5 million, some 1.1 million are under the age of 18 – a rise of about 4% in the proportion of young people compared to 7 years ago. In fact, even the British government is now considering allowing fathers the right to take 6 months off work if their wives want to return to work after their paid maternity leave ends.
In the light of these, I would therefore request the Minister to consider legislating 5 days of paternity leave. The public sector already has such a leave scheme, so if this change is made it will align the private sector practice with the public sector.
