President Rohani’s deputy for women’s affairs says each week they are handling 20 complaints from women who have been laid off following pregnancy.
The Etemad daily reports that Shahindokht Molaverdi said a large number of pregnant workers are losing their jobs after pregnancy.
She announced proposals to provide floating hours to mothers instead of reducing their hours and to provide childcare in the workplace.
Iran’s labour minister has issued a new directive to various government bodies to prevent women from being laid off following pregnancy.
Earlier reports indicated that a third of women in the private sector are laid off after pregnancy.
The Social Welfare Department has reported that of the 145,000 women who take advantage of the six-month pregnancy leave, 47,000 are laid off. Therefore, the proposal to increase pregnancy leave to nine months may lead to even more job losses for mothers returning to work.