The Madras High Court has held that contractual employees are also entitled to maternity leave and all benefits under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.
A Bench of Chief Justice KR Sriram and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said,
“The provisions of the 1961 Act will prevail over contractual conditions denying or offering less favourable maternity benefits.”
The Court passed the order while allowing a writ petition filed in 2018 by an association of nurses employed by the State government under the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM).
The petitioner association, MRB Nurses Empowerment Association, had approached the Court seeking a direction to the State government to extend to them 270 days of paid maternity leave as mandated under the 1961 Act.
The State, however, had told the Court that maternity benefits had been denied to the NHRM nurses because they were contractual employees. It further said that nurses employed on a contract basis were not eligible for any kind of leave as applicable to regular government servants, except for the casual leave of one day per month and day off.
The High Court, however, noted that as per Section 27 of the Maternity Benefit Act, the provisions of the Act are effective regardless of any inconsistent laws and that the Act takes precedence over any other laws that may be inconsistent with its provisions.
“Therefore, by virtue of Section 27, the provisions of the 1961 Act will prevail over contractual conditions denying or offering less favourable maternity benefits. Consequently, the reliance by the respondents on condition 6 of the Appointment and Posting Order to deny maternity benefits is untenable,” the High Court said.
It accordingly, directed the State government to consider all pending and fresh applications filed by NHRM nurses seeking maternity benefits in accordance with the provisions of the 1961 Act.
Advocate M Padmavathy appeared for the petitioner association.
Advocate General PS Raman, State Government Pleader A Edwin Prabakar, and Government Advocate TK Saravanan appeared for the State.
[Read Order]