Sikkim: CM announces year-long maternity leave for govt employees

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Wednesday asserted that his government will provide 12-month maternity leave and one-month paternity leave to its employees. He said this while addressing the annual general meeting of the Sikkim State Civil Service Officers' Association (SSCSOA).

During his address, Singh said that changes will be made in the service rules to provide the benefit. Adding that details of the benefit will be notified soon, the Chief Minister said that the move will help the government employees to take better care of their children and families.

A working woman is entitled to six months, or 26 weeks, of paid maternity leave, under the Maternity Benefit Act 1961. The Himalayan state has the lowest population in India at around 6.32 lakh.

The Chief Minister said that the officers are the backbone of the state administration, contributing significantly to the growth and development of Sikkim and its people, as per a PTI report. He added that there has been a significant focus on streamlining the promotion process for civil services officers, leading to an increase in the number of promotions.

He congratulated all new IAS and SCS (Sikkim Civil Services) officers, and wished them well for a successful career.

Earlier, an official notification said that in order to boost the population of indigenous communities in Sikkim, the state government has decided to provide advance and additional increments to its employees having two or three children with retrospective effect from January 1 this year.

The state government employees possessing Sikkim Subject Certificate/Certificate of Identification shall get one advanced increment for having two surviving children, the Department of Personnel Secretary Rinzing Chewang Bhutia said in a notification issued on May 10, PTI said in a report.

Those employees having three surviving children shall get one additional increment, he said, adding anyone of the spouses can claim for advance increment on mutual understanding.

The scheme shall be effective from January 1, 2023 and only those employees whose second and third child is born on or after January 1, 2023, shall be eligible for the scheme, Bhutia said.

(With PTI inputs)

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