Maria do Rosário da Palma Ramalho, the Minister of Labor, Solidarity, and Social Security, expressed concerns over what she described as abuses in the use of leave for gestational mourning and breastfeeding leave.
In an interview, the minister cited cases where “children seem to continue being breastfed to provide workers with reduced schedules, which is two hours per day paid by the employer, up until they are in primary school.”
If true, “this implies the child might not eat anything else, which is strange.”
“The appropriate exercise of a right should not be confused with the abusive exercise of the same right,” the minister continued, adding that “the regime remains the same [as current practice] and the framework for paternal leave also stays.”
Government plans to modify breastfeeding leave rules include requiring women to present a medical certificate confirming breastfeeding, which must be renewed every six months, with the leave being valid only until the child turns two.
Another topic discussed in the interview is the revocation of leave for gestational mourning, which the minister stated “created a practical problem.”
“This rule created a problem because it said ‘in cases where there is no pregnancy leave,’ but there is always pregnancy leave. Therefore, our intervention here was to clarify the system,” the minister explained.
She noted that in this area there were also “reports of some abusive use” by employers “where they say ‘take three days off, then you come back,'” although she acknowledged these seem to be “rare cases.”
The draft plan presented by the Government stipulates the repeal of leave for gestational mourning, replacing it with leave for pregnancy termination.
The minister emphasized that only women with six months or more of social security contributions would qualify for this leave, clarifying that “this is not pregnancy leave, but rather the benefit provided by the State,” adding that “this is a contributory benefit, so one must have contributed.”
For those who have not met the six-month contribution requirement, the woman may be entitled to social support for pregnancy termination. “Therefore, in any case, she is covered,” added the minister during the interview.
The father, however, does not benefit from the same leave, as the minister stated gestational mourning days do not apply in these cases.
The minister further commented that the father’s role is to “accompany the pregnant woman who lost a child,” entitling him only to leave for assistance to a family member, which does not include any subsidy for these situations.
When questioned about the loss of salary due to the legislation, which involves 14 days, the minister responded: “Look, we couldn’t solve the issue any other way, this is the truth.”
