Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas has expressed worry over the implications of the proposed measure seeking to grant a two-day paid menstrual leave to all female employees.
In a statement, Treñas said he has “no objections” to House Bill 7758, or the proposed Menstrual Leave Act, filed by Gabriela Women’s party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas.
“I am only worried that this might lead employers to hire based on gender.”
The proposed measure would effectively grant all female employees both in the private and public sectors a maximum of two days of fully paid menstrual leave every month.
The bill defines menstrual leave as benefits granted to a female employee allowing her not to report for work for up to two days every month due to premenstrual or menstrual tension but continuing to earn 100 percent of the compensation.
Pregnant and menopausal women, regardless of the nature or status of their employment, are not covered by the measure.
Menstruation-related symptoms (MRSs), according to Brosas, are diverse and widespread among women.
“According to Hum Reprod Update, between 45 and 95 percent of menstruating women suffer from primary dysmenorrhea, or painful menstruation. MRS patients are also found to have lower scores in several domains of quality of life during their periods, such as general health, physical, mental, social, and occupational functioning,” the bill stated.
“According to a survey released by BMJ Open, MRS also causes a great deal of lost productivity, and presenteeism is a bigger contributor to this than absenteeism. Women workers would rather go to work despite being in pain than have their wages deducted due to absences,” it added.IMT
