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Creche facility a far cry in private firms
The amendments made in the Maternity Benefit Act (2017) were set to roll from April 1 this year. However, most of the private sectors are not following the mandatory crèche facility that was also included in the Act along with the extended maternity leave.
Hyderabad: The amendments made in the Maternity Benefit Act (2017) were set to roll from April 1 this year. However, most of the private sectors are not following the mandatory crèche facility that was also included in the Act along with the extended maternity leave.
Though establishments are granting the extended 26 weeks paid maternity leave to their employees, they are failing to provide their women/ men staff a crèche facility.
Pravallika, member of Forum of IT professionals, said, “It’s a very thoughtful decision taken by the government to mandate crèche facility in offices with more than 50 employees.” She further said that some Information Technology (IT) companies in Hyderabad have not yet provided crèches. And this is causing inconvenience to the women/ men employees.
According to the Act, offices can also tie-up with private crèches that are in permissible limits. Also employees can visit the crèche four times in a day. “The first year is a curial period for any new mother and the baby.
Private establishments should be considerate about this fact and facilitate their employees with crèches. I’m facing difficulty taking care of my child because my office does not have a crèche facility,” said Priya, a nursing mother and an employee at a corporate company in Raheja Mindspace.
She also added, “Private Crèches and play schools are not trustworthy and it is much convenient if I can see my child multiple times a day during my work breaks.”
Speaking about how vague is the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, Anshul Prakesh, partner of Khaitan and Co law firm, said, “The new law is not properly drafted.
The law is not clear about aspects like how many caretakers should be allotted to one crèche or whether the crèche is properly ventilated. It is also unclear if the new benefits will be available to the employees who are currently on a maternity leave.” He also said that this particular issue has taken a backseat.
GK Sunanda, District Women and Child Welfare officer, said, “Yes many private companies do not provide a crèche facility but there is no particular action we can take against these companies.
By Tera Sneha Reddy
