Scrapping existing provisions under the Civil Service, Nepal Army and Nepal Police Acts and the practice followed by various private sector employers, the SC said maternity-related facilities should be guaranteed to women employees no matter how many babies they have.[break]
A special bench of SC Justices Kheel Raj Regmee, Bala Ram KC and Girish Chandra Lal said that facilities to be provided to nursing mothers should not be limited to just two babies as that would contradict a constitutional provision and obligations under international treaties adopted during different time-frames.
“Article 20 (2) of the Interim Constitution has guaranteed the right to childbirth,” reads the verdict, adding, "Since the constitution has not put a cap on childbirths, the government should not determine facilities for nursing women workers on the basis of number of babies."
The Civil Service, Nepal Police and Nepal Army Acts say that women get facilities like maternity leave and allowances for up to two childbirths. Various private sector organizations have also been providing the same facilities to nursing mothers in their employ.
But women employees who give birth on more than two occasions have been deprived of facilities like maternity leave and allowances.
The government and other organizations provide a maximum of 60 days paid maternity leave for each of two childbirths.
The special bench has termed the existing practice of the government and other agencies as ´unconstitutional and impractical´.
The bench directed the government to amend the acts and other legal provisions that contradict the constitutional provision.
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