Cyprus’ Council of Ministers approved the increase of maternity leave from 18 to 22 weeks for the first child, Labour and Social Insurance Minister, Yiannis Panayiotou said on Wednesday.

In his statements after a Cabinet meeting, he said that around 5,000 new working mothers would benefit from this on an annual basis, adding that an actuarial study confirmed that the financial cost was within the Social Insurance Fund’s capabilities.

Panayiotou said that the bill would be promptly tabled to the House of Representatives, noting that, if it is passed by the legislature, it will directly affect thousands of new working mothers.

According to the Minister, the bill provides for an increase in maternity leave from 18 to 22 weeks for the first child through birth or surrogacy and from 16 to 20 weeks for first child through adoption, while also provides for increasing the additional maternity leave due to hospitalisation of the infant after birth, from 6 to 8 weeks.

Increasing maternity leave, he said, “will make a significant contribution to strengthening the reconciliation of work and family life” and allow new working mothers to be with their children for a longer period of time in the first months of their lives.