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Namibia to Extend Maternity Leave to Four Months, Media Reports

19:07, 14 September 2023

Rasina Musallimova

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According to a local outlet, Namibian women received a three-month (12 weeks) maternity leave with payment of 100% of the basic salary of women in 2022, but no more than about $790 per month. Previously, the payment was a maximum of around $680 per month, regardless of their salary.

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The Social Security Commission (SCC) of Namibia is working on the legislative framework to increase maternity leave from the current three months to four months, with a corresponding increase in benefits, Chief Executive of the SCC Milka Mungunda said in an interview with The Namibian.

"The International Labour Organisation convention makes provision for about 16 weeks’ maternity leave. Currently we’ve got 12 weeks. From that perspective, we are very receptive to an increase in maternity benefits. In fact, even today, this whole week, we were having meetings to amend the Social Security Act," she noted.

Speaking about paternity leave, the official stated that the issue is a Ministry of Labor, Industrial Realtions and Employment Creation matter, but that the commission has not yet made any moves to introduce this to the act.

"What you’re saying is that we have not made any recommendations to the Labor Ministry for paternity leave. But we as an institution make provision for paternity leave for our staff," Mungunda added.

Earlier, member of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) party Winnie Moongo put forward a proposal in the Namibian parliament for five months maternity leave with full pay, the media said. Moongo also suggested including paternity leave in this legislative framework.

"Pregnancy and maternity are potentially vulnerable times for working women and their families. Expectant mothers and fathers and nursing mothers require special protection to prevent any potential adverse effects from them and their infants," she highlighted.

Men are not entitled to paternity benefits under Namibian law, according to the media. However, there are some institutions that allow this paternal leave.

For instance, the workers at the Town Council of the city of Arandis in the western part of the country may take 10 days off to take care of a newborn. While men at the local company Namdock, specializing in ship maintenance, could take two days, the media reported.

In 2019, the Namibia Network of AIDS Service Organizations advocated for the introduction of paternity leave to involve fathers in the early stages of their children’s upbringing.