A state lawmaker who also happens to lead the state Public Employee Union has proposed to authorize government workers three months of paid paternity leave.

Assemblyman Manuel Guerrero, of the National Regeneration Movement Party said the bill seeks to bring equality among public employees as set in the Mexican Constitution.

The bill includes provisions to allow paternity leave in case of adoption.

Guerrero justified the proposal with the ruling issued by the Mexican Supreme Court that mandates the elimination of discrimination and inequality among men and women. The Supreme Court has already authorized paternity leave for its workers.

The lawmaker said the measure would eradicate the idea of women-only care of newborns while reducing the labor gap. At the same time, the bill, if enacted, would be taken as an example by other private and public institutions, the union leader said.