INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: Recognising the essentiality for menstrual leave for female trainees and workers, the Supreme Court on Friday asked the Union
government to analyze taking a policy choice on the concern after studying the requirement and the possible fallout of employers getting
discouraged to engage large female workforce.A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala at first
considered seeking reaction from the Centre on a PIL by supporter Shailendra Mani Tripathy seeking a pan-India policy on menstrual leave for
women, from universities to workplaces and factories.The petitioner stated just Bihar and Kerala grant menstrual leave to ladies
Bihar had introduced paid menstrual leave for 2 days for females staff members as far back as 1992 throughout the chief ministership of Lalu
In Kerala, CM Pinarayi Vijayan had on January 19 announced that the state federal government would provision three-day duration leave for
female students.When the bench had determined the order releasing notice, a law student through advocate Satya Mitra pointed out that
necessary duration leave could adversely impact work of ladies in the private sector as employers might view a big female workforce to be a
disincentive for service or trade
The bench, which had earlier encouraged the law trainee, saw merit in the caution and left it to the policy choice of the Union
government.The CJI-led bench said, She (the law student) has a point
If you oblige companies to provide paid menstrual leave to females workers, it may impact their organization or function as a disincentive,
and they might avoid taking in a great deal of females employees
We feel it is a concern for the Executives policy choice, the bench stated, asking the petitioners counsel Vishal Tiwari to submit a
representation in this regard to the Union ministry of ladies and child advancement for required action.The acknowledgment of the problem of
menstrual leave as a significance in the social paradigm by the Supreme Court came a week after Spain became the very first European Union
country to introduce paid menstrual or duration leave of three to five days, wage for which would be paid by the government
It also made provision for menstrual hygiene items at educational and social centres along with prisons.Tripathys petition said, In spite
of provisions in the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, to look after women in challenging stages of her maternity, the very first stage of
maternity, which is the menstrual period, has been intentionally or unknowingly disregarded by society, the legislature and other
stakeholders in society, except a couple of organisations and state federal governments
The erstwhile Soviet Russia had actually taken a policy decision to pay women employees who were absent from work due to the fact that of
discomfort throughout the menstrual period
Japan had enacted a law in this regard in 1947
South Korea followed suit in 1953
A couple of provinces in China - Ningxia, Shanxi and Hubei, and Liaoning - have provisioned two-day paid leave for females workers
Indonesia uses females two days leave a month, but they seldom take it because employers carry out health examinations on them prior to
The petitioner said the UK, Wales, Taiwan and Zambia are among other nations which offer menstrual leave.
