NHRC intervention ensures the benefit of 26 weeks of paid maternity leave to the contractual women staff of the Centre’s Samagra Siksha Scheme in Tamil Nadu

New Delhi, 28th June, 2023

The intervention by the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, India has ensured that now even the temporary women staff of the Centre’s Samagra Siksha Scheme in Tamil Nadu will get the benefit of 26 weeks of paid maternity leave, instead of 12 weeks, as per the provisions of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017. The Government of Tamil Nadu has informed the Commission that it has issued an erratum correcting the anomaly.

The Commission had registered a case on the basis of a complaint on 27th January, 2023 that the contractual women employees of the Samagra Siksha Scheme were not being provided with the benefits of 26 weeks paid maternity leave as provisioned in the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017. They were getting only 12 weeks of maternity leave. Allegedly, despite several representations to the Ministry of Education and Tamil Nadu Government, no action was taken to correct the anomaly resulting in the violation of the human rights of the women staff.

The Commission vide its proceedings dtd 25.01.2023 issued directions to the Secretary, Union Education Ministry, and the Commissioner, Labour Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, to get the allegations, made in the complaint, looked into, and to submit an Action Taken Report.

In response, the Commission received an e-mail from the Union Education Ministry stating that the subject matter ‘Education” is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and service matters of the staff are under the domain of the respective state governments. The Ministry has already written to the Government of Tamil Nadu to take lawful action in the matter.

In furtherance, the Commission received a report from the Principal Secretary, School Education Department, Tamil Nadu intimating that the State Project Director, Samagra Siksha has issued an Erratum dtd 10.02.2023 revising Maternity Leave for the married temporary women staff (on consolidated pay) of Samagra Siksha, Tamil Nadu- as 26 weeks instead of 12 weeks.

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