Councillors initially had plans to reject a recommendation by its services committee for mothers to receive a two-hour time-off for feeding over two years in line with civil servants and military personnel.

Councillors said that this would affect women's chances of employment and would cause losses to businesses.

However, councillor and former Health Minister Dr Nada Haffadh intervened with a proposal to give working mothers at the private sector time-off for an hour for six months.

The Shura Council was also planning to emit an article in the new Private Sector Law that would give female private sector employees two half-hour breaks a day for child care.

The breaks, as approved by parliament, would be allowed once the mother had completed her entitlement to two hours off her working day for breast-feeding.

Disabled

Councillors who were deadlocked last month said the proposed breaks would affect productivity - and be an unfair advantage over male colleagues.

Services committee chairman Dr Bahiya Al Jishi, whose committee prepared the report on the law, said that they should take into consideration that some mothers have disabled children, who need care through the day.

"So having them go to work would mean that the children would have no one to take care of them," she said.

"It is good to have someone work and their mindset are clear, rather than work with worries or being under panic."

Councillors against the rule said that the article was general and didn't specify when the care hours would be over.

Councillors will continue discussions over articles next week, before referring the 198-article law with their amendments to parliament.

The council has already blocked some articles of the bill proposed by MPs, including increased time off for mothers working in the private sector and forcing employers to pay all legal costs if their staff takes them to court for malice.