State approves 2-yr child care leave for women employees

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 9

In a major decision that is going to benefit women employees, the state government has approved child care leave of two years in the entire service for taking care of two eldest surviving children not above 18 years.

Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has approved the decision and the state Finance Department, which had submitted the proposal, will issue a formal order in the next few days. The child care leave will be above the maternity leave that is available to all women employees in the state. The women employees in the state are at present only entitled to six months maternity leave.

“… a woman employee may be granted child care leave by an authority competent to grant leave for a maximum period of 730 days during her entire service for taking care of her two eldest children whether for rearing or for looking after any of their needs, such as education, sickness and the like,” reads the approval by the Chief Minister.

During his first budget speech, Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu had said the state government was aware of the difficulties being faced by women employees to look after their children.

“There has been persistent demand from women employees that they should be treated on par with Central government employees with regard to admissibility of child care leave. The state government is aware of the difficulties being faced by the women employees,” Drabu had said on March 22.