Parliament has finalised the draft bill aimed at extending maternity leave and introducing paternity leave in Ghana.
The Labour (Amendment) Bill, 2023, initiated by Madina Member of Parliament Francis-Xavier Sosu, seeks to amend section 54 of the Labour Act to provide new entitlements for male workers.
The proposed legislation grants male workers a period of paternity leave ranging from a minimum of two weeks to a maximum of four weeks.
This is in addition to their annual leave, provided they produce a medical certificate from a practitioner or midwife indicating the expected date of their spouse’s confinement.
The bill ensures that male workers on paternity leave will receive full benefits and remuneration. Additionally, the leave can be extended for another two weeks in cases of a caesarean section, stillbirth, or the birth of multiple babies. Male workers who adopt a child under three months old are also eligible for paternity leave.
Clause 2 of the Bill amends section 57 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), replacing “twelve” with “seventeen and at most twenty-six weeks” for maternity leave duration.
It includes a provision for female workers who adopt a child under three months to be entitled to maternity leave. The clause also allows for an additional two weeks of maternity leave in cases of abnormal confinement, caesarean section, stillbirth, or the birth of multiple babies.
Furthermore, Clause 3 introduces a new section after section 57 to provide for flexible working conditions for pregnant or lactating female workers. These workers can apply in writing to their employer, stating the reasons for their request. Employers are required to respond in writing within fourteen days, indicating whether they grant or refuse the application.
Following the completion of the draft bill, it will be gazetted and read for the first time on the floor of the House before being referred to the relevant committee for consideration.
The bill was initially introduced by Sosu in October 2023, and a stakeholders’ engagement was held on March 4, 2024, to discuss its objectives.
According to Sosu, “the Bill forms part of efforts to achieve gender parity, and realise a free, fair, inclusive, progressive, and just society for all.”
As deputy Ranking Member of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament, Sosu has so far initiated 17 Private Member’s Bills.
These include the death penalty bills, anti-witchcraft accusations bill, community sentencing bill, and a bill to remove taxes on sanitary pads, among others. Three of these bills have been passed by Parliament, with one receiving Presidential assent.