Maternity leave duration to be extended: New regulation on the way
The draft regulation proposing to increase maternity leave to 24 weeks has reached its final stage. The AKP Parliamentary Group will make final decisions on the matter next week. With the regulation, the differences in leave between workers and civil servants will be eliminated, paternity leave will be increased to 10 days, and support for working mothers will be expanded.
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The maternity leave regulation, which has been on the agenda for a long time, has reached the completion stage. The AKP Parliamentary Group will make the final adjustments to the draft next week.
The draft, prepared by the Ministry of Family and Social Services, includes increasing the total leave for mothers, which is currently 16 weeks before and after birth under existing law, to 24 weeks.
EQUAL RIGHTS FOR WORKERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS
The new regulation aims to eliminate the existing differences in leave between workers and civil servants. Paternity leave for workers whose spouses give birth will be increased from 5 days to 10 days. Civil servant fathers already had 10 days of leave. Additionally, working mothers will be able to use nursing leave just like civil servant mothers.
The government is working on further increasing maternity leave, but it is being taken into consideration that such practices could negatively affect women's participation in the workforce. The goal of the regulation is to ensure that women do not fall into a disadvantaged position in the labor market while supporting families.
While incentives such as retirement and tax exemptions for housewives are being evaluated, plans are underway to expand daycare centers and increase care support for working mothers.
According to a report by Türkiye Gazetesi, the importance of making life "family and child-friendly" is being emphasized due to the fact that the rate of individuals living alone has reached 20 percent.