New Delhi: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Dhenkanal MP Tathagata Satpathy Thursday asked the Union government to restrict the benefits of maternity leave till the third living child to check population growth.
Satpathy was speaking on behalf of his party during the discussion on the “The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016” in the Lower House of Parliament. While supporting the Bill, he advised the government to take some corrective measures, keeping in view the current socio-economic scenario of the country.
“In due course of time, we have failed in nurturing the children, properly training them, educating them and in upgrading their skills. Under such circumstances, we need to discourage population growth. Maternity leave benefits should not be allowed beyond the third living child,” Satpathy stressed.
He also warned that a poorly drafted Bill could leave space for people to misuse it.
The Bill proposes extension of maternity leave period to 26 weeks. However, a woman with two or more children is entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leaves as per the Bill.
Satpathy also said that the legislation lacked clarity on possible cases where an employer could be discouraged from hiring women on account of granting them paid leaves under the maternity leave category despite the fact that women could be better employees.
The MP also batted for paternity leaves for men who adopted children. “There have been cases like accidents or otherwise where a man adopts a child from within or outside the family. Can the government consider granting paternity leaves to such persons,” Satpathy asked.
The veteran MP also cited facts to illustrate the reported disparities in wages of men and women.
Attacks PM:
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi without naming him, the BJD leader said, “I congratulate Health Minister JP Nadda and his team for reaching out to schools through trained teachers to create awareness among adolescents on many key issues. Many ministers of the government like him are doing a good job but their works are often overshadowed by a single person.”
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