Vietnam Yet to Implement Paternity Protection despite Long Maternity Leave

Vietnam has yet to apply paternity leave to encourage involvement of fathers around childbirth though the country has implemented long maternity leave on a par with the developed countries, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said in a report. In the report titled “Maternity and Paternity at Work: Law and practices across the world,” the ILO compares national laws in 185 countries and territories with the most recent ILO standards. Among them, Vietnam has yet to meet the requirements on paternity leave. Men in Vietnam are not entitled to any paternity leave, which has become more common in the world, the report showed, adding that at least 78 out of 167 countries provided some form of leave that fathers can use around the birth of a child in 2013. But the draft revised Law on Social Insurance is expected to open a chance for working fathers once it is brought to discussion for the first time at the National Assembly’s plenary session later this month. In Vietnam, maternity leave provisions can only cover nearly 30% the workforce and it requires more efforts to ensure better law enforcement in the informal sector like agricultural sector. (Un.org.vn May 13)