Employers get 5 years to set up breast feeding places

Employers and commercial building owners will have a five-year window to establish breastfeeding spaces if MPs approve fresh changes to a Bill.

The Labour and Social Welfare committee has extended the compliance period from the initial one to three years.

The breastfeeding stations would include breast pumps for expressing milk and fridges and employers must give time for women to breastfeed.

“The committee has recommended that the grace period before implementation of this legislation will be increased from one year to five years,” Kabinga Wachira, who chairs the Labour and Social Welfare committee said in a report.

The lawmakers have also handed employers and commercial buildings owners the option of establishing a common lactation space to be shared among multiple employers within the building or worksite.

Exemptions

The Bill makes it compulsory for all persons who own, lease or rent buildings holding at least 50 people to provide a lactation room.

The committee said it will propose additional changes to the Bill to exempt those who own, lease or rent a public or private building for residential purposes from the requirements of the Bill

“A person who owns…building accessible to the public, which has a minimum occupancy of fifty persons, shall install a baby-changing facility as prescribed in regulations.

The MPs have also proposed to halve the Sh1 million fine prescribed for employers who fail to allocate breastfeeding spaces.