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Women's Right to Breastfeed in the Workplace: Legal Lacunae in Malaysia

This paper investigates the right (or the absence of it) of women in Malaysia to breastfeed in the workplace. We find that there has been a lack of clear legal guidance as to their rights and a lack of facilities in the workplace. The implication has been that in the absence of workplace support, it...

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Main Authors: Kamal Halili, Hassan,, Norsuhaida Che, Musa,
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: Sookmyung Womens Universiti 2015
Subjects:
Malaysia; Employment Law;
Maternity Protection;
Breastfeeding Employee; Workplace
Online Access:http://ddms.usim.edu.my/handle/123456789/8465
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spelling my.usim-84652015-12-22T04:24:29Z Women's Right to Breastfeed in the Workplace: Legal Lacunae in Malaysia Kamal Halili, Hassan, Norsuhaida Che, Musa, Malaysia; Employment Law; Maternity Protection; Breastfeeding Employee; Workplace This paper investigates the right (or the absence of it) of women in Malaysia to breastfeed in the workplace. We find that there has been a lack of clear legal guidance as to their rights and a lack of facilities in the workplace. The implication has been that in the absence of workplace support, it is difficult to combine breastfeeding and work We find that the support of women's right to breastfeed in the workplace in Malaysia has been sporadic. The policy supporting breastfeeding has been piecemeal, issued by various ministries and hospitals. Using a qualitative approach that is anchored in legislation and government policy, this paper examines issues on the "right" of working mothers to breastfeed their babies in the workplace. Legal statutes and case law are analysed to gain an understanding of current legislation governing maternity protection and breastfeeding employees. We find that in Malaysia, employees' breastfeeding rights are not provided under the Employment Act 1955; hence this Act creates legal lacunae or gaps with regard to women's rights. Other legislation, such as industrial safety laws, protects breastfeeding employees by temporarily removing them from working in hazardous and dangerous working conditions but there is no legislation to offer equivalent protection in other workplaces. This issue is also analysed with reference to International Labour Standards, which provide a legal framework for breastfeeding breaks. 2015-06-19T06:57:57Z 2015-06-19T06:57:57Z 2014 Article 1225-925X http://ddms.usim.edu.my/handle/123456789/8465 en_US Sookmyung Womens Universiti
institution Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
building USIM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universit Sains Islam i Malaysia
content_source USIM Institutional Repository
url_provider http://ddms.usim.edu.my/
language en_US
topic Malaysia; Employment Law;
Maternity Protection;
Breastfeeding Employee; Workplace
spellingShingle Malaysia; Employment Law;
Maternity Protection;
Breastfeeding Employee; Workplace
Kamal Halili, Hassan,
Norsuhaida Che, Musa,
Women's Right to Breastfeed in the Workplace: Legal Lacunae in Malaysia
description This paper investigates the right (or the absence of it) of women in Malaysia to breastfeed in the workplace. We find that there has been a lack of clear legal guidance as to their rights and a lack of facilities in the workplace. The implication has been that in the absence of workplace support, it is difficult to combine breastfeeding and work We find that the support of women's right to breastfeed in the workplace in Malaysia has been sporadic. The policy supporting breastfeeding has been piecemeal, issued by various ministries and hospitals. Using a qualitative approach that is anchored in legislation and government policy, this paper examines issues on the "right" of working mothers to breastfeed their babies in the workplace. Legal statutes and case law are analysed to gain an understanding of current legislation governing maternity protection and breastfeeding employees. We find that in Malaysia, employees' breastfeeding rights are not provided under the Employment Act 1955; hence this Act creates legal lacunae or gaps with regard to women's rights. Other legislation, such as industrial safety laws, protects breastfeeding employees by temporarily removing them from working in hazardous and dangerous working conditions but there is no legislation to offer equivalent protection in other workplaces. This issue is also analysed with reference to International Labour Standards, which provide a legal framework for breastfeeding breaks.
format Article
author Kamal Halili, Hassan,
Norsuhaida Che, Musa,
author_facet Kamal Halili, Hassan,
Norsuhaida Che, Musa,
author_sort Kamal Halili, Hassan,
title Women's Right to Breastfeed in the Workplace: Legal Lacunae in Malaysia
title_short Women's Right to Breastfeed in the Workplace: Legal Lacunae in Malaysia
title_full Women's Right to Breastfeed in the Workplace: Legal Lacunae in Malaysia
title_fullStr Women's Right to Breastfeed in the Workplace: Legal Lacunae in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Women's Right to Breastfeed in the Workplace: Legal Lacunae in Malaysia
title_sort women's right to breastfeed in the workplace: legal lacunae in malaysia
publisher Sookmyung Womens Universiti
publishDate 2015
url http://ddms.usim.edu.my/handle/123456789/8465
_version_ 1645152422283182080
score 13.222552

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