Sikkim Govt announced 1-year maternity leave and 30 days’ paternity leave to all Govt employees

Good news for all Sikkim government employees who are planning to go the family way (have children). The Sikkim government has decided to grant 365 days (one year) maternity leave to all expecting casual government women employees including probationary teachers of the education department. A month’s paternity leave would be granted to all expecting fathers who are Sikkim government employees, Chief Minister PS Tamang said on Friday.

“At the beginning of the New Year 2023, I am delighted to declare that the employees under the Government of Sikkim working on Ad-hoc, MR (Muster Roll), and Contractual basis including the Probationary Teachers will also be eligible for Maternity leave of 365 days (female employees) and Paternity leave of 30 days, at par with the other regular employees in this regard,” Chief Minister PS said.

The one year leave facility and the one month leave facility will be available to “temporary employees drawing wages/consolidated pay from the Consolidated Fund of the State Government – Work-charged/Muster Roll/Ad-hoc/Consolidated Pay/co-Terminus basis etc. including Probationary Teachers of Education Department with effect from the date of its announcement,” a Sikkim government order dated January 13, 2023 said.

This announcement by the Chief Minister renders the earlier education department order of January 10, 2023 null and void.

That order had said that probationary, Ad-Hoc and MR employees would not be eligible for the year-long maternity leave, which triggered strong criticism from the employees and the general public forcing the CM to come up with this revised policy order.

The state government’s decision to give one-year maternity leave and a month’s paternity leave is also in line with CM Tamang’s decision to encourage families to have more children to fix the state’s plummeting fertility rate.

The CM had expressed concerned about the fertility rate declining at an alarming pace. He had said that the state government would soon come out with incentives for women who would be willing to bear more than two children.

The state’s fertility rate had dropped from 2.5 in 1999 to just 1.1 in 2021 – putting the entire Siikkemese population of the state under the threat of getting out numbered and extinct.
The state government is already providing Rs 3 lakh to women interested in going for in vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive a child.

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