The ironies are endless. Is Mother India entitled to maternity leave? Can a hospital act cruelly? That too to a mother? As per the Maternity Benefit Act, every employer is mandated to give paid maternity leave to employees - even to those on contract. “Society keeps singing paeans to motherhood, but my employers scrapped my post altogether when I asked for maternity benefits,” laments Nerul resident Sapna Ramani- Sardana. The 33-year-old Sardana joined Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), Parel, as a senior resident in the department of hospital administration on August 1, 2009. It was a three-year post, subject to annual renewal. “Soon after joining, I realized
that I’d conceived and applied for maternity leave in March 2010, as my delivery was due in April 2010. But my application was rejected. I pleaded that other hospitals offer the same benefits to people in my capacity. But the HR department, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), and Director of Tata Memorial Hospital just wouldn’t listen,” she says.
“I received a letter from the CAO saying they won’t grant me maternity leave, but I can take leave without pay,” she said. Left with no option, Sardana proceeded on leave for five months, from April 1 to August 31, which was shorter than the six months granted by the Maternity Benefit Act. After rejoining duty, she made representations citing her “legitimate and fundamental right.” When that failed to elicit a response, in November 2010, she complained to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), which funds TMH. She also met a joint secretary in the DAE, Revathy Iyer, in April 2011. A month later, she even took her case to assistant labour commissioner, RG Meena. Her hopes rose when TMH’s governing council finally discussed her case in a meeting on May13th, 2011. But when she wrote to Iyer again to find out what decision had been reached,
she received a terse reply. “Necessary communication has been passed to TMH. For further communication on this matter, contact them directly and do not communicate with DAE any further,” said the letter. “Instead of getting me justice, my relentless follow-up only led to my superiors abolishing the post altogether,” says Sardana. Her last day at work was July 31, 2011. TMH director Dr Rajendra Badwe, however, defended their decision. He said it was the organisation’s prerogative whether or not to continue with the post. “Her position did not allow her maternity benefits,” he insisted. This despite the fact, that other hospitals provide maternity benefits for similar posts. Dr Lakshmi Lingam from the Centre for Women’s Studies, TISS, who has done a study on existing maternity benefit policies, points out, “Under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 even contractual employees cannot be denied these benefits.” According to her, “employers often use some way of wriggling out of it. They are either unaware
that this is legally binding or don’t want to know.” She added that it is ridiculous to
make women feel guilty about demanding maternity benefits. “Bosses trying to say that this is a personal matter should be asked if the society does not dictate to women when and how many children they should have,” she said, adding, “The problem is lack
of sensitivity in understanding women’s contribution to society through both productive and reproductive labour.” Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, Mamta Sharma, was livid when approached for a reaction. “It’s a government rule. How can
they not grant them maternity leave? I would definitely ask them to give me their representation, so that I can help them. Such issues should be taken care of,” she said.
As for Sardana, she is determined to take this struggle to its logical end. “It is not for me alone. It is for all women.”
Yogesh Pawar MUMBAI
