Shillong, Feb 6: The Meghalaya Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan School Association (MSSASA) has sought the intervention of the Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW) over the failure of the government to extend maternity benefits to women employees including teachers of SSA schools.
In a letter to the MSCW chairperson, MSSASA president Aristotle C Rymbai said that ever since the SSA flagship programme was implemented in the state till date, teachers recruited and appointed under SSA on contractual basis have not availed benefits of maternity leave as entitled to regular teachers.
Stating that there is no difference in the eyes of the law between regular and contractual employees, he said that by not extending the benefits of maternity leave to elementary teachers under SSA amounts to discrimination as per Article 14 of the Constitution, provisions of the RTE Act, 2009, guidelines and framework of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
Rymbai requested the chairperson to look into the matter and ensure that the government implements the Maternity Benefit Act and 182 days paid maternity leave benefits to women employees under SSA.