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Thursday, March 20, 2025
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National Assembly Discusses Maternity Leave Adjustment

This Week

During the 2nd session of the National Assembly on 19 March, members from each constituency commented on a proposed change to maternity leave.

The draft law suggests reducing the current five-month maternity leave to three and a half months to align with international standards.

The change aims to better suit the health needs of both mothers and childrenHowever, Somphien Vongxay, an election candidate from Vientiane Capital, questioned the reason for the reduction.

She argued that while the adjustment meets international standards, it does not fully account for local conditions.

“We must consider the real situation here, especially the health challenges many women face,” she said. “Women’s health in Laos is still not on par with international levels.”
Somphien also raised concerns about whether three and a half months is enough time for mothers to fully recover before returning to work. She urged further consideration of the duration needed for a full recovery.

Also Suayphet give a comment on proposed changes to leave policies. Maternity leave in Clause two should increase from three and a half to four months. In Clause three, one month of leave for pregnancies of two to three months is agreed upon, but for those less than two months, fifteen days should be granted if a miscarriage occurs.

The revised leave structure includes one month for pregnancies of two to three months, two months for three to six months, and three and a half months for over six months. Cesarean leave in Clause four should increase to four and a half months. For Clause eight, marriage leave of up to five days should exclude public holidays, with the same clarification “Excluding public holidays” applied to Clauses nine and ten.

Additionally, Suayphet Thongsombath a member of the 8th constituency of Huaphan Province suggested that maternity leave should be extended to four months instead of three and a half, especially for women with certain health conditions.

He also proposed more flexibility in cases of miscarriage, suggesting that women who experience a miscarriage in the early stages should receive at least 15 days of leave.
For pregnancies between two to three months, one month of leave would be granted, and for those beyond six months, the leave would remain at three and a half months.
Suayphet also recommended extending Cesarean leave to four and a half months.

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