By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 10: The Voice of the People Party MLA from the North Shillong constituency, Adelbert Nongrum on Friday drew the attention of the House on the alleged ‘disparity’ in the maternity leave benefits provided to women by the government and the private sector.
Stressing the importance of maternity leave, he sought the details of the leave benefits provided by the state government and private businesses.
“There are two categories. For the state government employees, it is 180 days for the first two children in the entire service period. Under the maternity leave for contractual and private employees, all female employees are entitled to 26 weeks,” Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma replied.
He, however, said in the private sector, the mother concerned or the individual availing the maternity leave for not less than 80 days should hold her post at the time of seeking leave.
He also said that for the third child, leave for 21 weeks shall precede the date of expected delivery by a private sector, muster roll, and non-government employee.
Nongrum raised another supplementary question on the difference in the benefits between permanent employees and those in contractual jobs or the private sector. Sangma said there should not be any disparity on humanitarian grounds but different organisations have different rules and the maternity leave for state government employees is under the Meghalaya Fundamental and Subsidiary Rule of 1984, which specifies 180 days for the first two children.
He added that for the private sector and contractual employees, the leave is governed by the Central Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 amended in 2017. He further said the minor difference seen is mainly because of the different acts and rules that govern different employees.
Replying to the concerns of deprivation, the Chief Minister said the amended Maternity Benefit Act is being implemented.
“It is a central Act and 182 days is close to the 180 days the state government gives,” he said, adding: “The criterion of a minimum of 80 days is of concern because if somebody is working as a muster roll employee for 58 days or on contract for 30 days, then the individual is not eligible according to this Act. A person working 80 days or more is eligible.”
Shifting focus on the maternal mortality rate, Nongrum sought to know how the state’s MMR data from 2023-25 compared with the national statistics. The Chief Minister replied that in 2018, the MDA-1 took it up as the first issue and the state MMR figures then were double compared to the national average.
He said if the national average was hovering around 100 to 120, the state figure was about 220 in 2018.
He, however, said that this changed due to different interventions and the MMR has come down by 40%.
Giving out a rough idea, he said the state figures are now hovering around the national average.