Today we start the week with good news: Chile will have maternity leave of six months. The Congress of that country has just approved the extension of the postnatal rest of working women from the current three months to the six months, becoming the longest maternity leave in South America.
Without a doubt, Chile becomes one of the countries with the largest postnatal leave in the world. In Spain, our hearts are puckered at the thought of the number of claims made for an extension of the maternity leave to six months and the little response there is.
Returning to Chile, the extension of the maternity leave may be extended for a month and a half more if the mothers choose to join part-time work. And the current six-week prenatal leave is also maintained.
There are two formulas to enjoy maternity leave. One consists of six months of leave (with a payment cap) and with the possibility of transferring up to six weeks to the father. The other, in extending the permit to seven and a half months, but the last four and a half months the mother will have to partially return to her work receiving a 50% lower license payment that will complement her salary. In this case, you can transfer up to 12 weeks of permission to the father.
Even with the restrictions of the standard, which Chile has extended her maternity leave to twice as much as working mothers enjoyed It's great news. Six months is the minimum period, I think, that mother and baby should be able to fully enjoy their bond. So hopefully the example extends to other countries.
In announcing the extension of the permit, the Minister of Women, Carolina Schmidt, said a phrase that I rescue because I liked it so much:
"There is nothing better than investing in human development if you want to achieve development"
