An open letter, expressing more than ten NGO's discontent over the draft law on 'Temporary Unemployment Benefit' has been submitted to the RA president last week by organizations dissatisfied with the proposed law's shortening of maternity leave.

Currently new mothers are allowed 140 calendar days for which the state gives them allowances. The new law envisions only 100 days, cutting out the non-working days that are presumed in the 140 days now covered. 

The amount of compensation she would receive would also change. A ceiling on compensation would be set at 150,000 drams (about $420) a month, even if the mother's salary exceeded that amount.

Armen Hayrumyan, Head of Armenian Center for Youth and Student International Relations and Exchange (ACE) NGO, the initiator of the open letter to the President of Armenia, told ArmeniaNow the new law violates not only all pregnant women's rights, but also the rights of those get a high salary. 

"Women who get high salaries, pay a considerable amount of money to the social welfare fund for this very purpose. And during their whole life they may have only one, or two-three children, and their money won't be returned in this case," Hayrumyan says. 

One of the arguments of the initiators of the draft law and specialists is that by the new law they will try to fight against the illegality committed by employers who hire women during the last months of their pregnancy, for them to get maternity allowances at the expense of the state. 

Jemma Hasratyan, head of the Armenian Association of Women with University Education NGO, says this way the state wants to improve its social policy by increasing women's burdens. 

"Go, check, punish the [committers of the] illegality! Women should not suffer because some 10 employers have taken advantages," she says. 

Source: www.armenianow.com