Maternity leave: govt. for incentive scheme-Bid to reach out to private sector
Why in news?
Ministry of Labour & Employment has clarified Maternity Leave Incentive Scheme procedures and parameters that applied for organizations and companies.
- In a bid to encourage employers, especially in the private sector, to implement the extended 26-week maternity leave law, the Labour Ministry plans to refund them for seven weeks’ worth of wages for women workers with a wage ceiling up to Rs.15,000 a month.
- The Ministry is in the process of getting budgetary approvals for the Rs.400 crore incentive scheme, according to an official statement.
Poor implementation
- In March 2017, the Centre amended the Maternity Benefit Act to increase paid maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks for all women employees in establishments employing 10 or more people.
- However, the statement noted that while implementation of the provision was good in the public sector, it was poor for those with private sector or contract jobs.
- The Ministry of Labour and Employment is, therefore, working on an incentive scheme whereby the government would bear the cost of maternity leave wages for seven weeks, subject to certain conditions.
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