Pay panel's views are against women empowerment: Maneka Gandhi

NEW DELHI: Union minister for women and child development Maneka Gandhi has come out against a recommendation by the Seventh Central Pay Commission that undermines childcare leave availed by women employees, saying it’s not in line with the government’s agenda on women empowerment. Gandhi has shot off a letter to finance minister Arun Jaitley, urging him not to accept this “regressive” recommendation, particularly “when we want to encourage more and more women to become economically independent”.

Currently women employees in central government are permitted to avail childcare leave for up to two years in different spells till their children turn 18. In its recommendations, the Seventh Pay Commission has suggested that the first 365 days of childcare leave should be granted at 100% of the salary while the salary should be curtailed to 80% in the next 365 days.

"This in my view is a regressive suggestion,” Gandhi wrote in her letter to Jaitley sent late last week. “Effectively this suggestion would result in curtailment of childcare leave to 365 days in almost all cases. Loss of 20% of the pay is a significant loss for a women employee, but the aggregate amount in money terms saved through this will not be a material factor for the government.”
ET reviewed a copy of the letter. She said two years of childcare leave “has been one of the most progressive steps taken by the government as an employer for the women employees”. “The background to this has been that families becoming nuclear, children are not able to get adequate attention from the parents especially in critical times like illness, examinations, etc.” she wrote. “It needs to be appreciated that for the children to be brought up effectively, the mother has to play a critical role which becomes even more crucial during the time of illness or examination, etc.

Accepting a recommendation which effectively curtails the child care leave period to one year will not be in the larger interest of women employees and their children,” she wrote. Gandhi strongly urged the finance minister to not accept the said recommendation and ensure that the “framework of child care leave may be continued as before”.