Legislator Enrique Sanchez of the Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC) is exploring the possibility of presenting a bill so that fathers are entitled to a paid paternity leave for a period of three months.
This would be much more ambitious than bill 20.670 that was discussed during the process of ordinary sessions in the Social Affairs Committee. Currently, the Legislative Assembly is in a period of ‘extraordinary sessions’ that is, the time in which the Executive Branch gives the list of projects for discussion in the Legislative floor.
Critics of the proposal, mainly legislators of the Liberal party (Partido Liberacion Nacional – PLN) question the costs to the social security (the Caja), as well as the absence of studies that determine the benefits to the infant to be with the father during this stage in life.
Paternity leave is now available through collective agreements. For example, employees of the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) have the benefit.
