Maternity Leave for PG Resident Doctors, Medicos Disappointed with NMC's cryptic Notice

New Delhi: The recent National Medical Commission (NMC) notice, in which the PG Medical Education Board of the Commission has addressed the issue of maternity leave for the postgraduate medical students, has not gone well with the doctors, who are upset with the fact that the matter remains unsolved as before.

In the concerned notice, the NMC PG Board stated that the matter regarding grant of maternity leave to PG medical students shall be regulated as per respective State Government rules.

Clarifying on the issue of Stipend, the Apex medical commission has mentioned that the students pursuing PG medical courses should be paid stipend for extended period of training, if it has not been provided during the leave period.

However, the doctors are disappointed with the stand of NMC on the matter. Calling the notice cryptic and not straightforward, doctors have alleged that NMC is trying to get rid of the responsibility by stating that the grant of maternity leave shall be regulated by the State.

Further referring to the NMC clarification on stipend, the doctors have claimed that such a provision nullifies the main motto of maternity leave benefits. "This is basically unpaid leave, because the PG medical students will be paid stipend either during the leave period or the extended period of training. Where is the benefit then?" asked Dr Iqra khan, who is a fellow at the Developmental Pediatric Department of Latika Roy memorial foundation Dehradun.

Dr. Khan had to face huge problems while availing maternity leave during the COVID-19 pandemic when she was pursuing her MD Pediatrics from Indraprastha University. Even though she had completed her three-years course duration by then, due to the postponement of NEET-PG Examination, her course tenure got extended and by that time she had to apply for maternity leave.

Also Read: Maternity leave for PG medical students as per state rules, stipend if not during leave then in extended period: NMC

Lack of Clarity regarding Maternity Leave rules for PG Medical Students: 

"Our course got extended by six months due to the postponement of NEET PG exam and my maternity leave was falling in that extended period. When I applied for the leave, they had initially refused saying that PG Medical Students do not get maternity leave," Dr. Khan told Medical Dialogues.

She had to run from pillar to post during her third trimester and constantly submit documents and letters to the authorities for availing the leave. "The problem is no-one has any clear idea about this issue. Finally I got the leave after I got COVID positive and had a pre-term baby."

Explaining the rules, she added, "When I started digging up the matter, I found that in some States there are no provisions for maternity leave at all and the rules are different in case of various Universities and Institutes. I also came across a Delhi High Court ruling which had directed to grant six months maternity leave for all the JRs and SRs. However, that judgment also did not clarify regarding the PG medical students who are academic junior residents. However, I applied as a JR and based on that judgment and the IP University Rulebook, I finally got the leave."

Dr. Khan also referred to another problem that the PG medical students face after availing the maternity leave. She explained that in such cases, the PG course tenure gets extended for the students and therefore they have to write the exams with the supplementary batch.

"Such students also get the marksheet for supplementary batch even though they did not fail in any exams. It definitely affects the credibility of their CV. There should be clarity in this regard also," she demanded.

Are PG Medical Students Employees? 

While the Union Government of India has extended the benefit of maternity leave to all the women employees, the situation of PG medical students who undergo three years of training at the medical colleges fall in the grey area since they are considered as doctors undergoing academic training and not as employees.

Explaining the matter, Dr. Kulsaurabh Kaushik, Ex National Secretary of Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) told Medical Dialogues, "When we had raised the issue to the NHRC and other authorities, we had been told that the PG Medical Students are not employees since they are undergoing academic training for three years."

However, Dr Kaushik pointed out that even the PG Medical Students pay tax from their salaries. "Then how can they say that maternity leave cannot be granted to such students because they are not employees?" he asked.

"In my personal opinion, there should be no hindrance in granting maternity leave to the PG Medical students, no matter if they are undergoing academic training. We all know that 28-32 years is the best reproductive age in case of women and by denying maternity leave benefits to the PG medical students basically they are being restricted from becoming a mother during this period. This should not be done since motherhood is a natural phenomenon," he added.

Why Doctors are Upset with NMC: 

When asked about his reaction about the NMC notice on maternity leave, Dr. Kaushik also opined that the notice indirectly means that the PG medical students are being granted unpaid leave. "Where is the benefit of maternity leave then?" he asked.

Referring to the notice clarifying that granting maternity leave shall be regulated by States, Dr. Kaushik said, "NMC cannot get rid of its responsibilities by saying that it is a state affair. Health may be a State affair but medical education is regulated by the Central Government. This problem can only be solved by framing strong policy and proper rules to address the problems faced by PG medical students."

Giving her reaction to the NMC notice, Dr. Iqra Khan said, "The Maternity Benefit Act itself means that you are providing salary to your employee during maternity leave period because that employee has served the organization before. So, the NMC notice makes no sense at all. This is violation of a pregnant woman's right and it is violating the Maternity Benefit Act also. During the six months, doesn't a pregnant woman need financial support?"

"It's completely wrong. They are saying that stipend will be given in the extended period if not during leave period. This basically means unpaid leave because actually you are paying for three years. The employees get Maternity leave benefits during the leave period so that they can stay at their home and take care of themselves and the child without worrying about anything else," she added.

When asked what kind of rules the doctors are expecting, she added, "They can give course extension but they should give salary for both the leave period and the extended period of training. Also, the mark sheet of the students should not reflect supplementary exam and there should be a clarity on the matter."

While commenting on the matter, Dr Rafia Khan, the National Executive Member of Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) said, "The essence of maternity amendment act which increased the leave period to 6 months is being missed in these rules. The reason being that it effectively discriminates against those proceeding on leave as during extension/leave period they are not paid stipend. This amounts to a modern version of bonded labour. So this going to hamper efforts of the govt for women empowerment."

"The labour statistics in India reveal a skewed gender distribution and these rules are perpetuating that trend! These rules should be made uniform throughout the country and should be amended to remove this discriminatory clause so that women are given a freedom over their reproductive choice. These rules go against the rights based order and lead to discord in their familial and social lives. Hence, I would suggest that these rules are changed and there is some amount of compensation that should be provided to post graduate female scholars during their extended period of residency," she further added.

Also Read: Landmark: High Court Grants Maternity Leave to Senior Resident Doctor employed on Contractual Basis