In the name of the father

If the amendments to the Maternity Benefits Act hiking various benefits to women employees are stuck, it’s all because of family equations. The parliamentary panel headed by the CPI’s Sudhakar Reddy, mandated to look into it, feels the legislation doesn’t have enough for the father. Already in populist mode for possible polls, the Government was keen to push through the amendments, introduced in the Upper House earlier, in the current session. But the committee has recommended an increase in paternity leave for the fathers. Despite the Labour Ministry’s exhortation to pass the Bill, leaving the paternity leave issue to be pursued separately, the panel is insistent and so has probably frozen the Bill this winter. Efforts are on, however, at Shram Shakti Bhavan to expedite it for fresh clearance by the Cabinet.