ITANAGAR, 29 Apr: The BRO Labours Union, Northeast Region, has sought Chief Minister Pema Khandu’s intervention for implementation of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, for casual paid labourers (CPL) working under Border Roads Organization (BRO).
“The women CPLs have not been entitled to maternity leave and are being treated inhumanely by the BRO,” the union said in a representation to the chief minister.
It further claimed that the CPLs are also not entitled to the benefits of local, state and national holidays, and are not granted medical leave.
As per the BRO, the union said: “Grant of maternity leave to save the life of mother and child is applicable to the regular employees of BRO. For women CPLs engaged in BRO, no such policy is formulated by the government of India.”
Stating that the “BRO is violating the fundamental human rights of the poor workers, the union said: “The labourers working under BRO are also citizens of India and they too have the equal fundamental rights.
According to a letter from the union labour ministry last year, which has been made available to this daily, “No notification of exemption under Section 26 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 was received from the BRO, and thus it was presumed that Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 is applicable to the BRO. Further, the state government is the appropriate government under Section 3 (b) of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. Therefore, any complaint against violation of the provision of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 may be made to the labour department/labour commissioner of the state government.”
The union said that, following the letter from the ministry, a complaint letter was submitted to the chief minister in December last year.
“Accordingly, the state’s labour & employment secretary, simply forwarded
our complaint letter to the chief engineer, Project Arunank, Brahmank, Udayak and Vartak for taking necessary action, instead of directing the BRO to implement the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961,” the representation said.
“However, in response to the labour & employment secretary, we have received a reply from the chief engineer, Project Vartak, in which it is intimated that grant of maternity leave to save the life of mother and child is applicable to the regular employees of BRO and for women CPLs engaged by the BRO, no such policy is formulated by the government of India,” the union said.
It appealed to the chief minister to “take up the matter with the state labour & employment department, the union labour ministry, and the defence ministry for early implementation of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.”
