MMPRC adopts 6-month paid maternity leave policy

State-owned Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has adopted the new civil service regulation which makes it compulsory for employers to award six months of paid maternity leave and one month of paid paternity leave to civil servants.

MMPRC announced its decision to adopt the new civil service regulation on maternity and paternity leave in a short statement this Wednesday.

The decision was made through a resolution passed by the Board of Directors of MMPRC.

Civil Service Act has been amended to accommodate 6 months of paid maternity leave and one month of paid paternity leave for all civil servants. The amendment – one of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s electoral pledges - took effect on March 7.

Solih, following implementation of the new regulation, urged other State institutions and companies to follow suit in adopting the regulation.

Many have answered the call by adopting the regulation. They include:

• State Trading Organization (STO)
• Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL)
• Allied Insurance
• State Electric Company (STELCO)
• Local Government Authority (LGA)
• Parliament
• Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC)

Civil servants were previously awarded only three months of paid maternity leave and only three days of paid paternity leave.