From paper to progress

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017, which provided for creches, was a masterstroke. In 2017, the Indian legislature took a significant step to enhance women's participation in the workforce without compromising on their role as mothers. Mandatory provisions were introduced for companies with more than 50 employees, requiring them to offer a creche on the premises, with costs to be borne by the employers.

The Act also extended the duration of paid maternity leave available to working mothers from 12 weeks to 26 weeks and encouraged companies to allow women to work from home. However, women with two surviving children are entitled to a paid maternity leave of only 12 weeks. The Maternity Act considered every aspect and introduced provisions for adopting mothers as well as commissioning mothers to be entitled to maternity benefit leave as stipulated.

According to Section 11A of the Act, any establishment with 50 or more employees must have a creche, either individual or shared, within the prescribed distance as per applicable rules. Women employees are also permitted to visit the creche four times during the day.

Until then, only the Factories Act, 1948, and the Building and other Construction Workers’ (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, mandated creche facilities in factories or building and construction sites. According to these statutes, suitable rooms for employees' children must be provided and maintained by their employers, meeting requirements for accommodation, light, ventilation, cleanliness, and sanitary conditions, and being under the charge of trained women. These provisions not only prevent new parents from dropping out of the workforce post-delivery but also significantly curb issues such as child abuse.

While the stipulation of creches is commendable, issues often arise when it comes to enforcement. For example, the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, states that every woman returning to work post-delivery should be allowed two breaks during her day to nurse her newborn until the child turns 15 months old. However, these breaks often remain unexecuted due to practical issues. Promulgating legislation is essential, but it cannot be an end in itself. Poor compliance with labour laws jeopardizes both the employer’s working conditions and the employee’s well-being. Indian labour laws are so numerous, complex and even ambiguous that they promote litigation and Inspector Raj instead of resolving problems related industrial relations.

Execution authorities and industries bear great responsibility in ensuring the application of provisions. It is strongly required that information about these provisions be disseminated across the country, even to the remotest parts, through print, electronic media, etc. Directions need to be issued to labour authorities to ensure implementation, including directions for uploading compliance information on websites.

Furthermore, unorganized sector workers such as agriculturists, self-employed women, vendors, gig workers, etc., also need to be catered to. Social security laws will lose their validity if an overwhelming number of working people do not derive any benefit from the provisions Social security laws will lose their validity if an overwhelming number of working people do not derive any benefit from the provisions. Although the Social Security Code of 2020, which is yet to see the light of day, covers such categories for social security benefits, provisions such as creches, maternity benefits, etc., also need to be introduced. It’s important to have a comprehensive law that provides protection for every category of working person. Needless to say, it is impractical to have separate laws for each kind of employment, as this will only result in an endless multiplication of laws.

The 2017 amendment to the Maternity Benefit Act regarding creches, provisions of the Companies Act of 2013 mandating every listed company or every public company with a paid-up share capital of Rs 100 crore or more or a turnover of Rs 300 crore or more to appoint at least one woman director on its board of directors, gender sensitization across the country, and other such developments are surely leading us toward a progressive society. The nation can reach its full economic potential and achieve worldwide prosperity when all its citizens, including those in the remotest parts, avail equal opportunities.

The writer is a practising Advocate in Supreme Court and High Court of Delhi. Views expressed are personal