A few days ago, I wrote the below in an article, totally unrelated to this post–but it fetched social media conversations around the existing statutory maternity in Ghana.
I stated that: “I got into a mini-phone fight with a friend of mine from Law School, she got married in Ghana and moved there to join her husband. 4 months after birth, she is going back to work–the reason she called me was to ask that she buys an electric breast pump and send to my address so that when I am coming to Ghana, I will bring it to her.
Just 4 months after birth, she is going back to work–to chase money to the neglect or detriment of the child, I said. That ignited an argument, with her saying, she is doing what’s best for her child–and I said, NO: your child did not have a say in this.
She said her in-law will take care of the 4 months baby–so it’s fine. I replied: “did your in-law give birth to her?” Contemporary family sucks–both parents will leave for work as early as 6 am and get home around 6 or 7 pm, Monday to Friday–what valuable time will any of the parents have with the child?”
Though modern family life sucks in most parts of the world, it seems worse in Ghana: because while places like the United Kingdom somewhat grants mothers 9 months maternity leave ( government will pay you Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for up to 39 weeks of your maternity leave. You get: 90% of your average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first 6 weeks. £136.78 or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the next 33 weeks), in Ghana you get just 3 months of maternity pay is required by the law.
In Canada, “new mothers can take between 17 and 52 weeks of leave from their jobs. Their employers are required to accept the employees back into their jobs, or the equivalent, at the end of the mandated leave at the same rate of pay with the same employment benefits.
On top of mandating maternity leave, the government offers paid leave for one or both parents through Canada’s employment insurance plan. A pregnant employee or new mother can take a paid maternity leave of up to 15 weeks. Either the mother or father can take 35 weeks of parental leave after the baby is born or adopted. The parents can share the leave however they choose.”
A lot of these big companies in Ghana are making millions of dollars in profit, and extending the statutory maternity leave to 6 months, even with a reduction of pay after the first 3 months to enable mothers to spend time with their newborns wouldn’t collapse Ghanaian companies or the country. Therefore, the parliament of Ghana needs to look at the 2003 Act which captured the zeitgeist of the early 2000s–and bring it in line with Ghana today or the progress the world has made in this area.
A Ghanaian has started a petition at Change.Org, to get parliament to re-evaluate the Labour Act 2003–and I am calling on YOU ALL to sign it by CLICKING HERE.
Ghanaian women, especially mothers deserve better!