4_ Dr Vandana Prasad ppt.pdf - World Breastfeeding Conference

Maternity Entitlements for Women
Working in the
Unorganised Sector;
the Indian Case Study
Dr Vandana Prasad (MRCP Ped, MPH)
Member, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights

SECTIONS
• Conceptual issues:
• For whom? (Woman? Child? Both? Society?
• For what objectives? (wage compensation?
Health objectives? Nutritional objectives?
• Why?
• Operational issues: how

Conceptual Issues
• Women’s labour right; protection of
employment and social support during
pregnancy, delivery and lactation
• Impact on maternal morbidity and mortality
• Impact on birth weight
• Impact on exclusive breastfeeding and thus on
neonatal and infant mortality, growth and
development

FINAL ANALYSIS
Wage compensation for support to
exclusive breastfeeding and early
childcare is the only concept that can
fully justify maternity entitlements.
(nutrition and health for child is primary
conceptual objective, partially health for
mother)

Indian Benchmark;
Recommendations Sixth Pay Commission
• The existing ceiling of 135 days Maternity Leave provided in Rule 43(1) of
Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972 shall be enhanced to 180 days.
• Leave of the kind due and admissible (including commuted leave for a
period not exceeding 60 days and leave not due) that can be granted in
continuation with Maternity Leave provided in Rule 43(4)(b) shall be
increased to 2 years.
• Women employees having minor children may be granted Child Care
Leave by an authority competent to grant leave, for a maximum period of
two years (i.e. 730 days) during their entire service for taking care of upto
two children whether for rearing or to look after any of their needs like
examination, sickness etc.. During the period of such leave, the women
employees shall be paid leave salary equal to the pay drawn immediately
before proceeding on leave. It may be availed of in more than one spell.
Child Care Leave shall not be debited against the leave account.

Current Inequities
• Applicable to a very small number of women
(about 0.15% in the civil services)
• Back of envelope costs for child care leave
about Rs 12 lakhs per woman central
government employee
• As against zero financial entitlements for over
90% women working in the informal sector

CURRENT SCHEMES
• Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IG
support to maternity scheme):
• Promoting appropriate practices, care and service utilisation
during pregnancy, safe delivery and lactation
• Encouraging the women to follow (optimal) Infant and Young
Child Feeding (IYCF) practices including early and exclusive breast
feeding for six months
• Contributing to better enabling environment by providing cash
incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and
nursing mothers.
No wage compensation / labour / equity considerations

Inclusion and Exclusion
• BPL only
• Age under 19 yrs
• Unwritten targets for family planning
still persist as well as two child norm
in policy
• Tends to exclude a woman delivering
at home

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM A STUDY ON THE IGMSY
FROM AN EQUITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY PERSPECTIVE
IN 4 SELECTED DISTRICTS OF FOUR STATES (NAMMHR)
• 48% women will be ineligible if exclusion criteria of 2 child
norm and age over 19yrs as per IGMSY are adopted (Lingam
and Yelamanchili, 2011)
• Women who are forced to go back to work early are not in a
position to provide enough care for their infants by
following exclusive breastfeeding or even sufficient care
since there is a lack of facilities like crèches or day cares
where the children can be kept safely or attended to at regular
intervals. Thus this work is often done by older children who
forego school and attend to other domestic chores or take care
of the infants.

• After the birth of the infant despite the loss of incomes
women choose to stay back foregoing precious money that is
necessary for the survival of the family as a whole. This cost
may be covered by additional burdens that other family
members both children and adults might have to undertake or
else through loans taken at considerable interest rates. This
means a further depletion of assets and future incomes
• criteria for eligibility are in fact leaving out some of the
most vulnerable women and penalising them for making
choices that are shaped by the imperatives of survival. The
study findings clearly show that maternity is a time of great
economic vulnerability and at the same time it is also a period
of increased expenses; which has often resulted in further
impoverishment of poor women and increased indebtedness.
.

Recommendations
• Objectives of maternal entitlements should be clear and
consistent with the concept of wage compensation
• Universality is desirable and achievable and should not
be compromised by adding conditionalities not related to
the concept of maternity entitlements (institutional
delivery etc)
• Wage compensation should be adequate and equitable
(6 th Pay Commission)

Recommendations Contd.
• Good implementation should be commensurate with
objectives
– capacity building for purpose of the scheme;
linking it to EBF and wage compensation
– prevention of delays
• Health care services should be made free and
available to all so that money is spent on
nutrition and not on seeking health care.

Thank You!