MANGALURU: The Mangalore University syndicate has approved paid maternity leave for its guest faculty and temporary (non-teaching) staff. Both guest and temporary staff will get four months of paid maternity leave, from the day of delivery, effective from this month.
The decision was taken at a syndicate meeting on July 23. Ramesh K, a syndicate member of MU, who chaired the proposal, said that the syndicate passed the decision after a woman guest faculty member from Kodagu district, requested the varsity, that all women guest lecturers should be considered for paid maternity leave. “The suggestion was tabled, and we included temporary staff working in MU’s offices in various places. Earlier, they were not eligible for any facilities, and not paid till they returned from their maternity leave. Only contractual employees were eligible for six months of maternity leave, as directed by the state government,” Ramesh said.
“This is also a human-centric move from MU, to empower women. When permanent staff with higher salaries can have various facilities, the guest faculty must have similar facilities,” he said.
Thara C S, a political science guest faculty in the postgraduate centre at Chikkaluvara, Kodagu, who asked for maternity leave, said that she was pregnant. “I have been working as a guest faculty for a decade, and it is difficult if you do not have paid maternity leave. This will help a lot of women,” she said. She is expecting her second child in a week or two.
