Maternity Benefit Amendment Act 2017

Maternity Benefit Amendment Act 2017

 

F.No-S-36012/03/2015-SS-I
Government of India
Ministry of Labour & Employment

Sharam Shakti Bhawan, New Delhi
28 August, 2017

To
The Secretary,
Labour Department,
All State Governments/UT Administrators

Subject: The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act,2017

Sir/Madam,
Kind reference is invited to Ministry of Labour & Employment’s earlier letter number S-36012/03/2015-ss-I dated 12.04.2017 (copy enclosed) highlighting the recent amendments made to Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. The Ministry had also clarified therin certain points of doubts to facilitate smooth implementation of the provisions of the said Act, specially in respect of coverage of contractual workers under the Act. This Ministry in the recent past have been receiving a number of complaints and grievances from working women stating non-implementation of the provisions of the M.B. Act including alleged dismissal of few women by the employers in violation of section 12 of the said Act, non coverage of contractual employees, etc. The honourable National Commission for women has also taken serious view of such denial of rights of working women. This Ministry would, therefore, urge all the State/UT Labour Commissioners (which is the implementing authority under the M.B. Act) to effectively enforce the provisions of M.B. Act, and take strict punitive action against defaulting employers and ensure that the provisions of the statute are implemented in true spirit and letter to protect the rights of working women enshrined in the Act.

Yours faithfully
sd/-
(Manish Kumar Gupta)
Joint Secretary, Govt of India

Source: Confederation

Cabinet approves Pan India implementation of Maternity Benefit Program

Cabinet approves Pan India implementation of Maternity Benefit Program

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval to Pan-India implementation of Maternity Benefit Program which now has been extended to all districts of the country w.e.f. 01.01.2017. The Prime Minister in his address to the nation on 31.12.2016 had announced Pan-India implementation of Maternity Benefit Program.

The Maternity Benefit Program will provide compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the women can take adequate rest before and after delivery and not be deprived of proper nutrition.
The total cost of the proposal for the period from 01.01.2017 to 31.03.2020 including Central and State Government share is Rs.12,661crore. Government of India's share during the period 01.01.2017 to 31.03.2020 comes to around Rs. 7932 crore.

Objective of the Scheme

1.         To provide partial compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the first living child.
2.       The cash incentives provided would lead to improved health seeking behaviour amongst the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mother (PW&LM) to reduce the effects of under-nutrition namely stunting, wasting and other related problems.

Target Group
All eligible Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM), excluding the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers who are in regular employment with the Central Government or State Government or Public Sector Undertakings or those who are in receipt of similar benefits under any law for the time being. It has been decided to give the benefit of Rs.5000/- to PW&LM in three installment for the birth of the first live child by MWCD and the remaining cash incentive as per approved norms towards Maternity Benefit under existing programmes after institutional delivery so that on an average, a woman will get Rs.6000/-.

Conditions and installments
Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers who are eligible will receive a cash benefit of Rs.5,000/- in three installment at the following stages as specified in the table given below:

Cash Transfer	Conditions	Amount(in Rs.)
First installment	·   Early Registration of Pregnancy.	1,000/-
Second installment	·   Received at least one antenatal Check-up (after 6 months of pregnancy)	2,000/-
Third installment	·   Child birth is registered.·   Child has received first cycle of BCG, OPV, DPT and Hepatitis-B or its equivalent/substitute.	2,000/-

The eligible beneficiaries would continue to receive the remaining cash incentive as per approved norms towards Maternity Benefit under existing programmes after institutional delivery so that on an average, a woman will get Rs. 6000/-.

Mode of cash transfer to the Beneficiaries
The conditional cash transfer scheme would be in DBT mode.

Background:
The Government of India is committed to ensure that every woman gets adequate support and health care during pregnancy and at the time of delivery and every newborn is immunized on time which is the foundation for better health of the mother and the newborn. Normally, the first pregnancy of a woman exposes her to new kinds of challenges and stress factors. Hence, the scheme intends to provide support to the mother for safe delivery and immunization of her first living child. The improved health care seeking behaviour of the PW&LM would lead to better health status for the mother and the child.

PIB

Clarification on Recently Notified Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017

Clarification on Recently Notified Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act,2017
The Government has notified the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act,2017 on 28th March,2017 and the provisions of the Amendment Act have come into force with effect from 1st April,2017, except those relating to creche facility {Section 4(1)} which would come into force from 01.07.2017.

Keeping in view queries received from various quarters, the Ministry of Labour & Employment, on 12.04.2017, had issued certain clarifications on various provisions of Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017. One of the clarifications issued by the Ministry stated that the enhanced maternity benefit, as modified by the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) bill, 2016 can be extended to women who are already under maternity leave at the time of enforcement of this Amendment Act.

Having received further queries and to remove doubts, it is further clarified that it is mandatory on the part of employers to extend the benefit of enhanced maternity leave to those women workers who were already on maternity leave on the date of enforcement of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act,2017 i.e. as on 01.04.2017.

PIB

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017

No. S·36012/03/2015-S5-1
Government of India
Ministry of Labour & Employment

Shram Shakti Bhawan, Rafi Marg,
New Delhi, dated 12th April, 2017

To
The labour Department,
All States/Union Territories

Sub: The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 - reg.

Sir/Madam,
In line with recommendations of the 44th, 45th & 46th Session of Indian Labour Conference (ILC) and demands from various quarters, the Government has recently enacted the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017. Through this Amendment Act, following provisions have been added to the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961:-

Increase in the maternity leave from existing 12 to 26 weeks for working women with less than two surviving children.

• Provisions for work from home for nursing mothers.
• Mandatory provisions for establishments having fifty or more employees to have the facility of creche.
• Extension of twelve weeks of maternity benefit to the 'commissioning mother' and the 'adopting mother' from the date the child is handed over.

Provisions of the Amendment Act have come in to force w.e.f 1st April, 2017, except those relating to creche facility (Section 4( 1)} which would come into force from 01.07.2017.

2. After the enactment of the said Act, the Ministry has been receiving numerous queries relating the revised provisions of the Act. The Ministry has examined such queries in consultation with Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) and the same are clarified as below :-

S No.	Query	Clarification
1.	Applicability of the Act to contractual or consultant women employees.	Since there is no amendment in Sec. 2 of the Act, hence the original provision will prevail. The Act is applicable to all women who are employed in any capacity directly or through any agency i.e. either on contractual or as consultant.
2.	Whether enhanced maternity benefit, as modified by the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) bill, 2016 can be extended to women who are already under maternity leave at the time of enforcement of this Amendment Act?	Yes.
3.	Whether enhance maternity benefit can be extended to those women who have joined after availing 12 weeks of the maternity leave?	Those women employee who had already availed 12 weeks of maternity leave before enforcement of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act,2017 i.e. 1st April,2017, shall not be entitled to avail the extended benefit of the 26 weeks leave.
4.	Protection of women in case she is fired by the employer after learning her pregnancy?	Under Section 12 of the M.B. Act, 1961 it is emphasized that any dismissal or discharge of a women during the pregnancy is unlawful and such employer can be punished under Section 21 of the Act.
5.	Whether benefits of this Act can be extended to the employed women in the unorganized Sector	The Maternity Benefit Act is applicable to all mines, plantations, shops and establishments and factories. Mines, plantations, shop and establishments could be either in organized sector or unorganized sector. Also, clarification at SL. No.1 may be seen.

3. It is requested that these clarifications may be noted for compliance and also circulated widely so as to make the pregnant working women aware of their rights.

Yours faithfully,
(H.L. Meena)
Director (SS)

Source: The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act,2017

More than 9.5 lakhs women avail benefit under the Maternity Benefit Programme during 2014-15 and 2015-16

More than 9.5 lakhs women avail benefit under the Maternity Benefit Programme during 2014-15 and 2015- 16

Scheme to be implemented on a Pan India basis w.e.f. 01.01.2017

The Maternity Benefit Programme is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme being implemented through the State Governments/UT Administrations. The Ministry issues guidelines for implementation of the Programme, releases funds in the prescribed cost sharing ratio and monitors implementation of the scheme. Whenever, any incident of non-payment of benefits under the Programme is brought to the notice of the Ministry, the concerned State Government/UT Administration is requested to take necessary action in this regard.
Adequate fund have been placed at the disposal of States/UTs for providing maternity benefit to the eligible beneficiaries.

Earlier this scheme was implemented in selected 53 districts of the country, the Government has approved pan- India Implementation of Maternity Benefit Programme to cover all the districts of the country with effect from 01.01.2017. Year-wise details of funds allotted to the scheme are as under:

Year	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
Allocations (Rupees in Crore)	BE- 520.00 RE-403.00	BE-520.00 RE-93.87	BE-500.00 RE- 300.00	BE-400.00 RE-358.00	BE-438.00 RE-233.50	BE-400.00 RE-617.00*

* For implementation of Maternity Benefit Programme.

Details of funds released under the Maternity Benefit Programme during 2011-12 to 2016-17 (Up to 06.03.2017) and number of beneficiaries across the country is as follows:

Year	2011- 12	2012- 13	2013- 14	2014- 15	2015-16
Funds Released (Rs. In Crores)	293.83	82.57	232.05	343.13	233.46
Beneficiaries	309749	644167	588971	616420	336910
No. Of States not reported data of beneficiaries	4	0	3	8	10

This information was given by Minister of State for Women & Child Development, Smt Krishna Raj in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

PIB

Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 passed in the Parliament

Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 passed in the Parliament

The Bill seeks to increase maternity leave available to working women from the current 12 weeks to 26 weeks for the first two children

The Lok Sabha has passed the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 today. The Bill had already been passed by the Rajya Sabha during the Winter Session. With this, the Bill stands passed in the Parliament.
The Bill seeks to amend the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 to provide for the following:-

(i) Maternity leave available to the working women to be increased from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for the first two children.
(ii) Maternity leave for children beyond the first two will continue to be 12 weeks.
(iii) Maternity leave of 12 weeks to be available to mothers adopting a child below the age of three months as well as to the "commissioning mothers". The commissioning mother has been defined as biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo planted in any other woman.
(iv) Every establishment with more than 50 employees to provide for creche facilities for working mothers and such mothers will be permitted to make four visits during working hours to look after and feed the child in the creche.
(v) The employer may permit a woman to work from home if it is possible to do so.
(vi) Every establishment will be required to make these benefits available to the women from the time of her appointment.

The Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Gandhi thanked the Minister for Labour and Employment, Shri Bandaru Dattatreya for taking up the demand of lakhs of women across the country and for having steered the Bill through Rajya Sabha as well as the Lok Sabha. In her message to the working women, Smt. Gandhi congratulated the women who are planning to have a child and has stated that the Ministry of Women and Child Development will continue to work for the empowerment of women.

The amendments in the Bill were taken up following the request by the WCD Minister to the Hon'ble Labour Minister to bring about these changes so that a working woman gets time to exclusively breast-feed her child for 6 months after the birth. This period also enables the working mother to recuperate herself before she goes to back to work. In her communication to the Labour Ministry, the WCD Minister had also highlighted the concerns of commissioning and adopting mothers who also require maternity leave.

PIB