A bill which seeks to increase maternity leave from current 12 weeks to 26 weeks in all establishments, including private sector is likely to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The bill also provides 16 weeks leave for commissioning and adopting mothers. Till now, there is no such provision for any kind of leave for such mothers.
This bill also makes it mandatory to provide crèche facility where the number of workers is 50 and above.
Crèche facilities will be provided either in office or in any place within a 500- metre radius. The bill, piloted by the Union labour ministry, is gender-neutral. It will allow fathers to take their children to creche, if its far off from the mother’s workplace
At present, the women in private sector are entitled to maternity leave of three months while those in government sector get six months maternity leave.
Experts say that if the maternity leave is increased, India would be among the 40 countries in the world where the maternity leave is more than 18 weeks.
The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Maternity Protection Convention orders a minimum 14 weeks of maternity benefit to women but recommends that countries should increase it to 18 weeks.
As per reports, the bill may also have an enabling provisions to allow working mothers to exercise work-from-home option. However, this enabling provision will not be mandatory.
