The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for amendments to the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 by introducing the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in Parliament.
The Act regulates the employment of women during the period of childbirth and provides maternity benefits. The Act applies to factory, mines, plantations, shops and other establishments.
The Bill amends provisions related to the duration and applicability of maternity leave, and other facilities.
Once the new law is enacted, India will jump to the third position in terms of the number of weeks for maternity leave after Norway (44 weeks) and Canada (50 weeks). The amendments will help 1.8 million (approx.) women workforce in the organized sector.
Need of amendment in the bill:
- According to the survey, 37% of Indian women opt out of their jobs mid-career due to maternity or childcare issues.
- Percentage of working women only 21% in urban areas and 32% in rural areas as against 81% and 83% for men. One of the main reasons behind this being women dropping out of their jobs after or during child birth.
- Due to inadequate maternity leave, women struggled with new born baby and work commitments, eventually affecting their performance at work.
- An employer can actively plan for long absences and ward off any negative impact on the organization’s goals.
What are the amendments in the bill :
- Increase Maternity Benefit from 12 to 26 weeks i.e.– 26 weeks unto 2 surviving children with not more than 8 weeks preceding expected date of delivery and 12 weeks for mothers with more than two surviving children with not more than 6 weeks preceding expected date of delivery.
- 12 weeks Maternity Benefit to a ‘Commissioning mother’ and ‘Adopting mother’.
A commissioning mother is defined as a biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo implanted in another woman.
An Adopting mother is defined as a woman who legally adopts a child below three months of age.
The 12-week period of maternity benefit will be calculated from the date the child is handed over to the adoptive or commissioning mother.
- Facilitate ’Work from home’. This would apply if the nature of work assigned to the woman permits her to work from home.
- Mandatory provision of Crèche (play area for kids preferably with caretakers) in respect of establishment having 50 or more employees.The woman should be allowed to visit the crèche four times a day including her “break/interval-time”.
- Formally (in writing/electronically) informing women employees of their right to maternity leave during time of their appointment.
What is the justification for these amendments :
- The 44th, 45th, and 46th Indian Labor Conference recommended enhancement of Maternity Benefits.
- Maternal care to the Child during early childhood is very crucial for growth and development of the child.
- Ministry of Women & Child Development proposed to enhance Maternity Benefit to 8 months.
- In tripartite consultations, all stakeholders, in general, supported the amendment proposal.
- International Labor Organisation provides for a minimum of 14 weeks of maternity leave.
- India is among the highest ranking countries in child malnutrition. Increasing maternity leave will ensure proper care and attention to children in their formative ages.
What are the flaws of the bill :
- The bill covers only the organized sector. This leaves out a huge portion of working women like women who roll bidis, who work at very small establishments, who work without a fixed employer, who work as domestic help and the like.
- This bill discriminates against alternative parenting model.
- Provision of this bill indirectly assumes that out of the whole family, only women have the burden of a child. And she only can nourish the child.
- The bill is not in line with a human rights approach.
- The bill assumes that only the mother is a parent or primary caregiver, while a father is a provider.
- By restricting the option of work from home to only women, it reinforces gender-based roles within the family.
- The bill ignores, Section 57(3) of the Juvenile Justice Act, which enables a ‘single person’ to adopt.
- The bill discriminates against transgender and adoptive fathers, as it does not even recognize their right to parental benefits.
- The maternity benefit is available to women only if “her egg” was used to create an embryo i.e. the bill fails to recognize that either of the parents could be a donor and need not necessarily be the mother.
- It could encourage employers to hire males more as it would ensure uninterrupted service and no long absences during child birth.
Thus, it will end up increasing gender gap in the workplace.
Conclusion:
The law should recognize that raising a child is a social function and the responsibility is commonly owed by all parents and not just the biologic/adoptive/commissioning mothers.
The bill is an innovative initiative taken up by the Government of India. However, it needs to be implemented strictly among all sections of women employees including those working in the unorganized sector and contract employees working in government or private sector.
REFERENCES:
- The Indian Express, Express web desk, Maternity Benefit Bill 2016 passed in Rajya Sabha, here’s how twitterati reacted, August 11, 2016.
- The Indian Express, Rohan Parikh, The maternity leave bill could end up being counter-productive; here’s why, August 24, 2016.
- The Hindu Newspaper, The Maternity Benefits Bill, 2016, August 18, 2016.
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