Lok Sabha Question No. 341 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-05
Subject: Maternity Benefit to Women working in Unorganised Sector
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Margani Bharat

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 341 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2024

## MATERNITY BENEFIT TO WOMEN WORKING IN UNORGANISED

## SECTOR

## 341.  SHRI MARGANI BHARAT:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)whether  it  is  true  that  the  Maternity  Benefits  Act  only  covers women who work in 'establishments', leaving out the majority of
- women working in informal jobs;
- (b)the steps taken by the Government to extend these benefits to women working in the unorganised sector;
- (c)whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  requirements  for  other schemes providing maternity benefits to informal women workers such as Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, National Food Security  Act  (NFSA)  become  serious  barriers  due  to  fluidity  of
- work, periods  of  unemployment  and  absence  of  employeremployee relationship;
- (d)the steps taken by the Government to address these issues;
- (e)whether the Government has any plan to set up a central authority to monitor if informal women workers are getting their maternity entitlements through these various legislations; and (f)if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

- (a) to (f): The  Maternity  Benefit  Act,  1961,  as  amended  vide  the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017, is an Act to regulate the employment of women in certain establishments for certain periods before and after child-birth and to provide for maternity benefit and certain other benefits.

The Act applies to every establishment being a factory, mine  or  plantation  including  any  such  establishment  belonging  to Government  and  to  every establishment wherein persons are employed  for  the  exhibition  of  equestrian,  acrobatic  and  other performances; and to every shop or establishment within the meaning of  any  law  for  the  time  being  in  force  in  relation  to  shops  and establishments  in  a  State,  in  which  ten  or  more  persons  are employed, or  were  employed,  on  any  day  of  the  preceding  twelve months.

The  maternity  benefits  are  also  provided  to  women workers who are covered under the provisions of Employees' State Insurance (ESI) Act, 1948. Every woman, entitled to the payment of maternity benefit under the Maternity Benefit Act, continues to be covered under this Act until she becomes qualified to claim maternity benefit under the ESI Act, 1948.

The Code on Social Security, 2020 (CoSS) has been passed by the Parliament on 28.09.2020.   The Code has subsumed various existing social security legislations including the Maternity Benefit

Act, 1961.

The  Code  also  provides  for  the  maternity  benefits  to women workers who are covered under the provisions of Employees' State Insurance (ESI) Act, 1948, which has also been subsumed in the Code. The ESI scheme is applicable to every establishment in which  ten  or  more  persons  are  employed  other  than  a  seasonal factory.

The Code on Social Security, 2020 already has enabling provisions  inter-alia  for  providing  health  and  maternity  benefits  to women workers under unorganised sector. Section 45 and Section 109(1)  of  the  Code  on  Social  Security,  2020  already  provides  for provision  regarding  framing  of  welfare  scheme(s)  including  health and maternity benefits for these workers.

Section  1(7)  of  the  Code  also  provides  for  voluntary coverage of an establishment to enable it to obtain benefits of the Employees' State Insurance (ESI) Corporation.    The Code has not come into force so far.

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