Fri. Mar 29th, 2024
SBI New Guidelines Says “3-Months-Pregnant Women Employees” Are “temporarily unfit" To JOIN Services; DCW Seeks Rationale

The world’s 43rd largest bank– State Bank of India (SBI), has issued new rules for pregnant women employees.
According to the new rules, three months pregnant women employees would be considered “temporarily unfit” to join the work. They will be allowed to join back only within four months after delivery.

The move has triggered debate over infringing the rights of women to be treated equally in the workforce. The new guidelines have also drawn criticism from various sections including, the All India State Bank Of India Employees’ Association.

Though, the bank has withdrawn the circular.

What Was The Matter & Why DCW Intervened?

In SBI’s latest medical fitness guidelines for recruits or promotions, the bank said a women candidate pregnant for less than three months would be deemed fit.

“However, if pregnancy is of more than 3 months, she will be considered temporarily unfit, and she may be allowed to join within 4 months after delivery of the child,” said the medical fitness and ophthalmological standards for recruits and promotions dated December 31, 2021.

The Delhi Commission for Women has issued a notice to the State Bank of India for terming three-month pregnant women as “temporarily unfit”. Moreover, not allowing them to join services.

She said such workplace policies are discriminatory and illegal as this can result in an impediment in recieving maternity benefits provided under the law.

“State Bank of India seems to have issued guidelines preventing women who are over 3 months pregnant from joining service and have termed them as ‘temporarily unfit’. This is both discriminatory and illegal. We have issued a notice to them seeking withdrawal of this anti-women rule,” Ms Maliwal said.

In the notice tweeted by Ms Maliwal, the Delhi Commission for Women, or DCW, said SBI’s circular dated December 31, stopped women who are more than three-month pregnant from joining work, despite being selected after undergoing the due process.

“The bank seems to have framed rules which state that if a woman candidate is three months pregnant, then she would be considered as temporarily unfit and would not be given immediate joining upon her selection. This is a very serious matter. This action of the bank appears to be discriminatory and illegal as it’s contrary to maternity benefits provided under the Code of Social Security, 2020,” it said.
The DCW seeks an explanation from SBI over the rationale behind framing such guidelines. Also, it has asked the bank to give the names of officials who approved them.

Earlier, upto six-month pregnant women employees were allowed to join SBI under some conditions, including getting a certificate from a gynecologists, stating her taking up the job at this stage of pregnancy would not hamper her health.

 

By Harshita Sharma

I bring to you updates from business, policy and economy spectrum.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *