Question : Maternity Leave Incentive Scheme

(a) whether the Government is working on an incentive scheme wherein 7 weeks’ wages would be reimbursed to employers who hire female workers in private sector with wages up to Rs. 15,000 and provide the maternity benefit of 26 weeks paid leave and funded from Labour Welfare Cess and if so, the details and the status thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
(b) whether the Government proposes to reimburse employers in the private sector 50 percent wages of the last 14 weeks of maternity leave;
(c) if so, the details thereof along with the aims and objectives and criteria laid down for the employers to provide compensation/paid maternity leave and the total financial allocation made for this purpose;
(d) whether implementation of amended Maternity Benefit Act, 2017 is not good in private sector and women employees are not getting paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for both commissioning and adopting mother’s and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
(e) whether the Government is considering any proposal to include women working in the unorganized sector to enable them to avail the benefits under the Act, and if so, the details thereof;
(f) whether the Government is anticipating decline in rate of labour force participation of female population due to discriminatory hiring practices by the employers in order to prevent maternity benefits available under the said Act and if so, the details thereof along with the corrective steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard; and
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(g) whether the Government has increased/proposes to increase minimum wages for all sectors, Agricultural, Non-Agricultural and Construction etc. and if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF STATE(IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
(SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR)

(a) to (c): Government is working on an Incentive Scheme wherein seven weeks wages shall be reimbursed to employers who employ women workers and provide the maternity benefit of 26 weeks paid leave, as provided for in the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017.

To enable an entity to avail of the incentive, the women employees working in their entity should be a wage earner of less than Rs.15,000/- per month and a member of Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for at least one year and not covered by Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). The scheme is proposed to be administered through EPFO and shall be implemented after obtaining the approval of the competent authorities. However, the incentives is not proposed to be funded from Labour Welfare Cess, but through the budgetary allocations, Government has not made any allocation for the scheme.


(d): No study has been conducted by the Government. Maternity Benefit Act is administered by the State Governments, except in cases of Mines and Circus.

(e): No, Madam.

(f): No study has been conducted in this regard. However, the provisions of Act, inter alia, is likely to increase the women employment as well as increase their social security of women. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 is enforced and implemented by the respective State Governments in all sectors except Mines and Circus. Advisories are issued to State Governments from time to time for strict enforcement and compliance of the provisions of the Act.

(g): Central Government has notified increase in the basic rate of minimum wages for all sectors in the central sphere w.e.f. 19.01.2017. For the first time minimum wages for all sectors; agriculture, non-agricultural, construction, etc. have been increased approx. 40% respectively. Minimum wage (per day) for non-agricultural worker in the area ‘C’ category for unskilled workers increased from Rs.250/- to Rs.350/-, Rs.312/- to 437/- in Area ‘B’ category and Rs.374/- to Rs.523/- in Area ‘A’ category.

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