Parliament has approved a draft law that sets up a fund to enable employed women get their full monthly salary while on maternity leave.

Legislators yesterday unanimously adopted the draft law, a historic move that was widely awaited by working women and other Rwandans since the fund will allow mothers to spend longer time with their newborns without having to forego a significant part of their salary.

Road to enactment

Prior to its adoption by the House, the Bill to govern the Maternity Leave Benefits Scheme was scrutinised by the Chamber of Deputies’ Committee on Political Affairs and Gender.

The committee deputy chairperson, Yvonne Uwayisenga, told the media shortly after the bill was approved that the decision will put a smile on the faces of many Rwandans.

"We are happy that this law is passed because many Rwandans have been waiting for it. It is a fair law for working women because they were not getting enough time to look after their children,” she said.

Tabled in Parliament in May last year by the government, the proposed maternity fund bill had remained a priority on the House’s agenda with most legislators, saying setting up the fund remained a top priority for the country.

The fund is needed because under the labour law, every working woman has the right to a maternity leave of 12 consecutive weeks but she wouldn’t get her full salary for the last six weeks of her leave unless she went back to work.

Current labour law

The labour law states that during the first six weeks of her maternity leave a mother has the right to her full salary, but is obliged to return to work or get only 20 per cent (20 per cent) of her salary in case she stays home for the remaining six weeks of her maternity leave.

The law means most working women on maternity leave would return to work after the first six weeks of giving birth because most of them could not afford to forego their pay.

By establishing the Maternity Leave Benefits Scheme, the government wants to make it possible for the mothers to receive their full monthly salary for the entire 12 weeks of their maternity leave without having to come back to work.

Under the law establishing the scheme, both formal employees and employers based in Rwanda will contribute 0.6 per cent of every employee’s gross monthly salary to the fund.

The contribution will be equally shared between the employer and the employee, with each contributing 0.3 per cent of the employee’s gross monthly salary.

So, for every employee in the country – regardless of how much they are paid or where they work – a fee of 0.3 per cent of their gross salary minus transport allowances will be collected by the employer and deposited to the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) as a contribution to the maternity fund.

Contribution to RSSB

Employers will also be required to provide an equivalent of 0.3 per cent of every employee’s gross salary to RSSB as a contribution to the maternity fund.

For example, an employee who earns a gross salary of Rwf100,000 per month will contribute Rwf300 to the maternity fund. The employer will also contribute the Rwf300 for the employee.

Although they may sound minimal, the contributions will make it possible for employers to pay full salary to their women employees on maternity leave and claim money for the last six weeks of the leave from RSSB.

"It is not a lot of money but if it is well collected it will help to solve a big problem. Mothers will have enough time to look after their babies,” Dr Uzziel Ndagijimana, the minister of state for economic planning, said.

The contribution rate for the fund is 0.6 per cent of every employee’s gross monthly salary under the passed law but it will be changed from time to time by Parliament when deemed necessary.

The draft law on Maternity Leave Benefits Scheme, passed by Parliament yesterday ,will require the President’s assent before it is gazetted for implementation.

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