Employer has to be sympathetic towards pregnant working women: Bombay High Court

An employer has to be sympathetic towards pregnant working women, the Bombay High Court said on Friday while ordering the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to grant maternity benefits to a woman [Airport Authority of India Workers Union & Anr. v. Union of India & Anr.].A division bench of Justices AS Chandurkar and Jitendra Jain made the observation while dealing with a petition by a woman challenging the rejection of maternity benefits by AAI on the ground that she was not eligible for grant of maternity leave..The Court directed AAI to grant maternal benefits to the woman, observing that whatever the nature of duties of female workers, they must be provided with all facilities they are entitled to. “Women who constitute almost half of the segment of our society have to be honored and treated with dignity at places where they work to earn their livelihood. Whatever be the nature of their duties, their avocation and the place where they work, they must be provided with all the facilities to which they are entitled. To become a mother is the most natural phenomenon in the life of a woman. Whatever is needed to facilitate the birth of child to a woman who is in service, the employer has to be considerate and sympathetic towards her and must realize the physical difficulties which a working woman would face in performing her duties at the workplace while carrying a baby in the womb or while rearing up the child after birth,” the Court observed in its order..The petitioner had a child in 1997 after which her husband passed away. She then secured a job with the AAI on compassionate grounds. She later remarried and gave birth to a child in 2009 but did not apply for maternity benefits. In 2012, she delivered a third child but this time around, she applied for maternity benefits.The AAI, however, refused her maternity benefits on the ground that she already has two surviving children..The Court observed that the objective of the Maternity Leave Regulation of 2003 is to grant maternity leave benefit and not to curb population.“The condition of two surviving children is subjected so that the maximum times a female employee can benefit is only twice. This is to ensure that the organization is not without the services of the employee for more than two times,” the Court observed..Further, the Court also noted that after the petitioner joined AAI, she had not taken maternity benefits for the child born in 2009. She had only applied for maternity benefits for the first time in 2012. In view of this, the Court opined that AAI was not justified in denying the benefits of maternity leave to the woman and quashed their decision.It directed AAI to grant maternity benefits to the woman within 8 weeks from..Advocates Pavitra Mahesh and Meelan Topkar appeared for the woman.Advocate Ahmed Padela briefed by The Law Point appeared for AAI.[Read Order]