Port Blair, Dec 26: The Non-Gazetted Govt. Officers’ Association, Andaman and Nicobar Islands welcomed the recent amendment in Leave Rules by Govt. of India extending Child Care Leave to ‘Single Male Government servant’. This amendment in leave rules enable unmarried male govt. servant who adopts a child or a divorcee or a widower to avail Child Care Leave upto 730 days subject to certain conditions. Earlier only female Govt. servants were eligible for Child Care Leave. The Govt. of India has notified this amendment in its Gazette notification dated 14th December, 2018.
The Association also express satisfaction over granting of 10 days ‘Earned Leave’ to vacation staff of various educational institutions including school teachers. Earlier they were eligible for 20 days Half-Pay leave and teachers were demanding Earned Leave for quite some time as they faced certain hardship to commute Half-Pay leave.
Rule 44 of Central Civil service Rule 1972 has also amended and is substituted with ‘Work Related illness and Injury Leave’ (WRIIL). Existing Hospital Leave, Special Disability Leave and Sick Leave are subsumed in this new leave WRIIL. Shri T.S.Sreekumar, General Secretary of the Association while welcoming the decision on Child Care Leave to single male employees and Earned Leave to vacation staff, criticized the decision of the government to curtail the salary of employees to 80% during the Second Year of the Child Care Leave.
