SSA teachers meet Prestone over maternity leave

SHILLONG: A delegation from the Meghalaya SSA School Association (MSSASA) met Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong on Tuesday to pursue the demand for maternity leave for contract workers.
In a statement issued here, president of the association Aristotle C Rymbai said contract teachers under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) are not entitled to maternity leave.
The demand is for teachers working under budget head of SSA in the state should get benefits under the Maternity Benefits Act 1961 — Right to Payment of Maternity Benefits and Maternity Benefits (Amendment) Act, 2017.
“Last year, the teachers’ union submitted a representation to the state government through the state project director (Ambrose Ch. Marak) of SEMAM-SSA office but the government did not address the issue,” Rymbai said.
He informed that Marak submitted the representation to the government on October 9.
Rymbai pointed out that the Ministry of Labour and Employment in its clarification issued on April 12, 2017, to all states and Union Territories clearly mentioned in Section 2 of the Maternity Benefits Act that it was applicable to all women who were employed in mines, agricultural, shops and any institutions or otherwise could be either in organised or unorganised sector either on contract or as consultant, “but unfortunately in Meghalaya, till date, the benefits of maternity leave have not been given to teachers working under SSA”.
He argued that SSA teachers in Assam are entitled to take maternity leave, besides special annual, medical and study leaves.
The Deputy Chief Minister assured the delegation to look into the matter and said it was a genuine issue that the government needed to address.