Today was the first day of the Second Budget Session of Parliament and the Lok Sabha passed the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016. Rajya Sabha had already passed the bill during the Winter Session. The Bill was passed unanimously by voice vote in the Lok Sabha.
Key Features of the Bill:
- Maternity Leave of 26 weeks for pregnant women in organised sector.
- 12 weeks leave to a woman who legally adopts a child below three months of age and to a commissioning mother in which case the leave will apply from the day of commissioning.
- Provision for working from home, if the nature of work permits so. The employee and employer can mutually decide the duration after the period of maternity leave.
- Six weeks leave for abortion/termination of pregnancy.
- One month leave for medical illness.
- No wage reduction on account of pregnancy.
- Tripartite mechanism-employer, union and state government. all three will have responsibility of proper implementation.(Labor is a subject in concurrent list so both union and state government share equal responsibility)
Labor minister Bandaru Dattatreya introduced the bill, assured the house that all ministries concerned would be taken on board and implementation would be fully integrated. He also lauded the role of states like Tamil Nadu which provided for benefits over and above those set by the central statutes.
The amendment aims to encourage participation of women labor force in the organised sector, however Mr. Dattatreya ensured of involving the unorganized sector gradually. With increasing the maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks India will jump to third position in terms if number of weeks for maternity leave, behind Canada (50) and Norway (44) and ahead of countries like Germany, Japan, United States of America and United Kingdoms.
