The head of a women's rights organisation in Fiji has told a parliamentary committee the country should introduce paid menstruation leave for female workers as part of labour law reform and to remove "discrimination".

Fiji Women's Rights Movement (FWRM) executive director Nalini Singh said most workplaces in Fiji are not designed to support women when they menstruate.

Fiji does not have any provisions for paid menstruation leave under its existing employment laws. The government's Employment Relations (Amendment) Bill proposes the introduction of such a leave "specific to women (including menstrual leave and miscarriage leave)…"

According to the Bill, "where a worker has completed more than three months continuous service with the same employer may use 3 of her 10 days paid sick leave during each year of service if she has severe or debilitating menstruation".

However, while making a submission to the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs on the Bill on Monday, Singh said the law must go further, saying "three days … is not fair because we don't menstruate only three months. It's every month."

She said the FWRM wants the proposed legislation to include provisions that provide reasonable accommodation for women so that they can menstruate at work with dignity.

A 12-day paid menstruation leave, distinct from other leave provisions, would be a "step in the right direction", she said.

"When we advocate for gender equality and work towards removing the existing biases … we have to move away from 'it's going to be too expensive to employ women'," she said.

"If we believe that we are a modern society, we recognise women as having skills and capabilities to do any type of work [that] matches their education, then we have to be prepared to also understand that biologically, women are different, and that cannot be used as a point of discrimination."

Responding to a question from a male committee member on whether FWRM would consider reducing annual leave to compensate for the additional days of paid menstruation leave, Singh said "menstruation is not an illness".

"I would not consider reduction in sick leave compared to menstruation leave," she said.

"The stigma around this issue is finally breaking officially now … because it's been recognised in legislation. For years, this has not been talked about in an open way"

"The pain, we can't describe it and unless you go through it, you won't understand what that is. So recognising that as a special, unique thing that some women will need is, to me, a step in the right."

The FWRM's submission also called for a menopausal leave and paternity leave increases.

When asked by the chair of the committee on what the implication of such a provision could have on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which account for nearly 60 percent of the nation's workforce, Singh said the law would need to be "a little bit more detailed".

"If we were truly going to make our employment laws applicable and useful … there is still scope to be a little bit more detailed so that we close the loopholes and we don't look at everybody in the same way./

"At the moment, the Bill is looking at everyone, all the employers, in the same way."

The Bill, tabled in Fiji's parliament last August, aims to modernise Fiji's labour laws in line with the constitution and international standards, according to the government.

It proposes more than 140 amendments to the Employment Relations Act 2007. Public hearings are currently being held across Fiji to gather input from stakeholders.

A final report is expected sometime this year.

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