Maternity leave now 26 weeks

India on Thursday climbed up several notches to become the third best country in terms of benefits for working mothers. With the Rajya Sabha passing the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, by a voice vote, extending maternity leave benefits from 12 to 26 weeks in all companies that employ more than 10 people, India is now at the third position in terms of the number of weeks for maternity leave after Norway (44) and Canada (50).

The 26-week full-pay maternity leave benefit is applicable for two “surviving children”. In case of a third child, or more, the maternity leave will be about 12 weeks.

The amendments, aimed at benefiting about 1.8 million women in the organised sector and increasing the strength of working women, also include 12 weeks maternity leave for adopting and commissioning mothers, meant for women who choose surrogate mothers to have children.

Amid demands by some members that there should be provisions for paternity leave for fathers to share the responsibility of the child, the government clarified that for establishments having 50 or more employees, it would now be mandatory to have a creche even if they do not have a single woman employee, highlighting that even a man can bring a child to the office creche.

Some members demanded that government should consider extending the maternity benefits to the unorganised sector as barely 30 per cent women workforce would benefit from this legislation.

While replying to clarifications sought by members, labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya said once the new law is enacted, India will jump to third position in terms of the number of weeks for maternity leave after Norway (44) and Canada (50).

Welcoming the development, Dr Ranajan Kumari, director, centre for social research, said, that the amendment is expected to generate more employment for women. However, she added, its implementation will be huge challenge. “We have seen that many employers do not like to employee married women, preferring unmarried women instead. The new amendment is likely to eliminate all such issues. However, challenge will be its implementation”.

In the Rajya Sabha, women and child development minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi said her ministry had recommended raising maternity leave from 12 weeks to 8 months but it was considered too long for the employer. Noting that after giving birth, a woman’s body needs time to heal, she said the legislation will go a long way in ensuring that the future generations are healthier. Highlighting that there are more nuclear families now, Ms Gandhi said the bill has its roots in malnutrition, as breastfeeding the child is very important, but is not possible unless the mother is in physical proximity with the child. She said the government is thinking of introducing direct benefit transfer for women.