Kerala Relaxes Working Hours For State Employees With Special Needs

New Delhi: The Kerala government has taken a significant step towards supporting the parents of children with special needs by relaxing working hours for them. In a recent announcement, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated that government employees who are parents of children with 40% or more disabilities will receive a monthly waiver of 16 hours.

This decision is a part of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) government's mission to create a truly differently abled-friendly state. The move is aimed at helping parents to take care of their children and provide them with the necessary support.

The waiver of 16 hours per month will provide much-needed relief to parents who have to balance their work and caregiving responsibilities. This decision will also enable parents to spend more quality time with their children and ensure that they receive the care and attention they require.

The announcement has been widely appreciated and has garnered positive responses from citizens across the state. The government's efforts towards creating a more inclusive society have been applauded, and the move has been described as a major step towards building a more compassionate and equitable society.

In another remarkable Step, CM announced Kerala takes another remarkable step to empower workers by launching India's first welfare fund exclusively for MGNREGS and AUEGS schemes. It will ensure pensions, medical assistance, and family pensions for registered workers while extending educational aid to their children.

General Working Rules In India

Last year, the central government clubbed several labour, employement and working laws in India to create four Labour codes, namely the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. It published these codes in the Official Gazette for general information.

According to the labour codes, a statutory right for minimum wages and timely payment of wages has been made available to all workers to support sustainable growth and inclusive development.

Moreover, every worker, as per labour codes, is entitled to annual leave with wages after working for 180 days in comparison to 240 days earlier. And provision for encashment of leave on demand by a worker while in service at the end of calendar year.