Cases of Extending the Maternity Leave and Deadlines

The wise decision of the President of the Republic to extend the period of maternity leave is part of his policy supporting the social front that inspires hope and continues to strengthen citizens’ rights, the Minister of National Solidarity, Family and Women’s Affairs Soraya Mouloudji said.

The Minister highly praised the decision of the President of the Republic in the Council of Ministers held on Monday, which stipulates extending the maternity leave period by 14 consecutive weeks after the expiry of the legal period for maternity leave for a working woman who is forced to stop working due to the health condition of her newborn who suffers from a mental or congenital disability or a serious illness, at her request, while benefiting from daily compensation at a rate of 100% of her daily wage.

This came after the Health, Social Affairs, Labor and National Solidarity Committee of the National Assembly heard the Minister to study a draft on the protection and promotion of people with special needs.

Moulouji explained that this leave can be extended for an additional second period without interruption for up to 24 extra weeks if the health complications related to mental or congenital disability or serious illness of the newborn are exacerbated requiring continuous accompaniment from the mother.

She explained that “the decision enables early intervention for children with disabilities and guarantees them the necessary health care and support for treatment and combating illness or disability. It also enhances social status and values the prestigious role that Algerian women enjoy in the family and society in particular.”

In this regard, the Minister indicated that “the decision is another gain added to the set of gains approved by the Algerian state in favour of women in recent years, whether through the 2020 Constitution, which emphasized the need for political empowerment of women through the state’s work to promote women’s political rights by expanding their chances of representation in elected councils or through economic empowerment, by promoting parity between men and women in the employment and encouraging them to assume positions of responsibility in bodies and administrations and also by enabling them to benefit from all state support mechanisms in the field of entrepreneurship and economic integration, including the stay-at-home mothers present in all regions of the country”.

In the context of the gains that working women have always achieved, Mouloudji said: “In addition to women benefiting from many privileges in the field of social security, including the possibility of retirement at the age of 55 instead of 60 upon their request, working women who have raised a child or several children for at least 09 years benefit from a reduction in age based on one year for each child up to 03 years, and after the maternity period, they retain their position and their right to promotion and all the privileges granted to them as working women.”

Unlike many developed countries, women in Algeria benefit from equal pay between women and men, and also benefit from unemployment grants.

This indicates farsightedness and foresight in deepening the gains of working women. It is support and loyalty to generations of educators and support for the family and its stability—a support in which Algeria competes with first-class countries that lack such protective measures.