2-years of maternity leave for women employees of Tripura government
Women employees of the Tripura government will now be able to avail 24 months of maternity leave for their first two children, the Left Front ruling party recently announced. The offs can be taken in one go or intermittently till the child is 18 years old. The move comes ahead of the Tripura assembly elections scheduled in February. Read on to know more.
India allows professional women 26 weeks of maternity leave
On March 9, 2017, India approved paid maternity leave of 26 weeks for the women employees of the organized sector. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, reportedly affects 1.8 million women, who were previously allowed only 12 weeks of maternity leave. The bill is yet to become a law, but it would apply to all companies with 10 or more staffers.
Maternity leave bill also entitles mothers to other facilities
However, the 26-week leave policy applies only for the first two children. For the third, women can avail a 12-week paid leave. Rajya Sabha had passed the bill in August 2016. It was held up with the Lok Sabha until March. As per the bill, women are also entitled to other facilities including creches, a non-discriminatory performance appraisal, and work-from-home arrangement if need be.
How is India going with respect to other countries?
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with the new bill, India is doing much better than several other nations. A look at the number of paid maternity leaves women in other nations are entitled to: The United Kingdom: 39 weeks Canada: Up to 17 weeks France: 16 weeks Germany, Japan: 14 weeks The United States: 0 weeks
