Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday hiked the number of casual leaves to 25 days for women employees working in various departments of the government.
According to an official release from the Chief Minister’s Office, female employees in government departments will now be eligible for 25 days of yearly casual leave, instead of the 15 days of temporary leave that was previously granted to government employees.
Currently, government workers are entitled to fifteen days of unpaid time off annually. The 25 days of casual leave that women government employees are now entitled to is an increase of 10 leaves per year.
The Odisha government made this decision out of concern for the household duties and other issues faced by female government employees.
It should be mentioned that in the 1990s, Odisha was the first state to establish a 33% reservation for government employment.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had earlier disclosed a number of advantages for block grant employees of educational institutions, including casual leaves, maternity leaves, and retirement benefits.
As per the announcement, block grant employees of schools and colleges will get 15 casual leaves per year. Women employees will receive 180 days of maternity leave for their first two children.