Garment: Maternal Rights

Maternity Leave for Garment Workers

What is maternity leave?

Maternity leave is specifically granted by law to women workers due to pregnancy, childbirth, and the period after childbirth. Maternity leave covers the period before, during, and after childbirth

How long is the duration of maternity leave?

Based on the Labour Law No.13 year 2003 article 82, women workers are entitled to have maternity leave for 1.5 (one and a half) months before the time of birth and 1.5 (one and a half) months after delivery according to the obstetrician's calculation.

Are women workers also entitled for a leave after having a miscarriage?

Women workers who have a miscarriage are eligible for a 1.5 month leave or according to an obstetrician's reference in the case of a worker's miscarriage.

Are garment workers entitled to both types of leave?

Both leave types are applicable in the garment sector

Does maternity leave apply to contract workers in the garment sector?

The right to maternity and miscarriage leave must be granted to women workers regardless of their employment status, whether they are permanent workers or contract workers

Can workers take maternity leave even before 1 (one) year of work?

Labour Law explains that the requirement to be entitled to take maternity leave rights is that the worker is pregnant. It doesn't consider whether the worker has been working for one year (12 months) or not

Can maternity leave be extended?

Maternity leave can be extended if there are complications or other medical reasons. Written statement from a obstetrician or midwife explaining the medical condition should be attached before or after delivery. It is not clear whether women workers are entitled to full wages for such an extension period

Wages and Medical Care during Maternity Leave

Do women workers get paid during maternity leave?

Employers are obliged to pay wages during maternity leave. Therefore, even if the worker is on maternity leave, the worker has the right to be paid her full salary

Are the wages during maternity leave equal to the regular wage?

Wages paid during maternity leave consist of basic wages plus fixed allowances. Non fixed allowances and/or salary components that are accounted based on attendance such as food, transport allowances or operation cost are not included in the wages paid when workers take their maternity leave.

Does the employer provide free medical care and contribute to childbirth cost for women workers?

The national health insurance program is organized by BPJS Health and is compulsory. The health care program will eventually cover all citizens and foreigners residing in the country for more than 6 months. Since BPJS Health operates, the company must register its employees to become member of BPJS Health no later than 1 January 2015. Pregnancy examination and childbirth are health services include in BPJS Health program. BPJS Health set the normal delivery rate in Health Facility (Faskes) I for Rp. 600,000. If the normal delivery cost is more than Rp 600,000, workers must pay the rest for themselves.

If the company has not registered its employees to BPJS Health, then the company must bear the health services for its workers according to the benefits provided by BPJS Health. In addition, there are administrative sanctions if the company didn't register its employees to BPJS Health.

Is the labor cost of the worker's wife paid by the company?

Yes. Workers are entitled to health care services from BPJS Health, and employers are required to register their employees to BPJS Health. BPJS Health coverage includes maternity benefits given to women workers or the wives of BPJS Health program participants.

If the worker is a member of BPJS Health, then the worker's wife is entitled to receive assistance in childbirth costs and pregnancy checks.

What are the maternity benefits covered by BPJS Health?

1. Antenatal care (ANC) service is provided in the form of a package of at least 4 (four) examinations
2. Normal delivery
3. Newborn Examination
4. Postnatal care (PNC)
5. Family planning program

Menstruation Leave in the Garment Sector

Can women workers in garment take menstruation leave?

This rights is not widely known to women workers. In accordance with the article 81 of Labor Law, women workers who feel pain during their menstrual period are allowed to take time off on the first and second day of her menstrual period, regardless of the status of her employment status. They should notify their management.

Are workers paid during menstruation leave?

Employers are required to pay wages for women workers who are sick on their first and second day of their menstrual period so they cannot work. This also applies to women workers in the garment sector.

Should taking menstruation leave be accompanied by a doctor's letter?

Labour Law does not regulate in detail how to notify the employer, therefore there is no regulation obliging women workers to give a doctor's letter when requesting menstruation leave.

Any provisions concerning the form of notification to the entrepreneur therefore should be stipulated in the employment agreement, company regulations, or Collective Bargaining Agreement

Breastfeeding Rights for Women Workers in the Garment Sector

Can women workers continue breastfeeding their child when back at work?

Women workers who return to work have the right to breastfeed (if the women worker brings her baby to the office) and/or pumps breast milk at work

Article 83 of the Labour Law stipulates that "Entrepreneurs are under an obligation to provide proper opportunities to women workers whose babies still need breastfeeding to breastfeed their babies if that must be performed during working hours"

Does the State provide protection to working mothers who breastfeed their babies?

The state supports breastfeeding activity for working mother's, the support shown by the regulations that allow adequate time and facilities for mothers to breastfeed their babies.

Especially for nursing mothers who return to work, the State guarantees the right of working mothers to continue providing exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months. Despite maternity leave in Indonesia that is only 3 months, the State regulates that working mothers can continue to provide breast milk to their babies and breastfeeding during working hours.

Does the Company have to provide special rooms to breastfeed their babies or to pump breast milk at work?

PP No.33 of 2012 on Exclusive Breastfeeding Article 30 paragraph 2 explains that employers must prepare special facilities for breastfeeding and / or milking according to the ability of the company

How long is the breastfeeding break during working time?

Regulations do not specify breastfeeding duration (hours or minutes), usually it is stated in employment agreements, company regulations or collective bargaining agreements.

Based on the collective bargaining agreements database collected by Gajimu, the average company gives 30 minutes to 1 hour per day for working mothers to breastfeed their children/pumping

How long lasts the right to breastfeeding breaks (age of the child)?

Babies are guaranteed the right by the State to get exclusive breast milk for 6 months. Therefore, employers are obliged to give working mothers a chance to breastfeed and/or pump breast milk for at least until the baby is 6 months old.

However, employers may arrange the duration of breastfeeding or the validity period for the right to breastfeed in a employment agreement, company regulation or collective bargaining agreement, to the extent that it does not violate the prevailing regulations and harm worker's rights

Protection for Pregnant or Breast-feeding Garment Workers

Can pregnant workers do dangerous work?

Labour Law only provides that employers are prohibited from employing pregnant women workers at night (between 23.00-7.00) if there's a written statement from doctor or midwife, that working late can be dangerous to the health and safety of her womb.

There is no detailed regulation on the prohibition of performing any types of work that may be harmful to pregnancy. But in general, employers are obliged to maintain the health and safety of pregnant workers"

Can employers terminate employment on the grounds of being pregnant?

As stipulated in Article 153 Labour Law, employers must not terminate or force employees to resign because they are pregnant, on maternity leave, or based on their marital status. If the company terminates the employment on the grounds that the worker is pregnant, then it is null and void and companies are required to hire workers back.

In addition, the company can not force its workers to resign, since basically resignation must be based on the will of the workers.

Are women workers to return to their position after a maternity leave?

There is no employment regulation that regulates returning to the same position for women workers who have completed the right to maternity leave. It is stated, however, that women workers should not be fired because they are on maternity leave, which means that after giving birth, women worker can return to her previous job.

What can be done by worker if employer is violating maternal rights?

If a company is violating regulation on maternal rights, a worker can take action as follows:

• negotiate with the company about the violation. If the negotiation is unsuccessful the worker can take the matter to tripartite level, involving mediatiothe from local manpower office. 
• report the problem directly to the labor inspector who is available in the manpower office at the Provincial level."