Thiruvananthapuram: Psycho-social counsellors at the school level in the State, all of them women, do not get paid maternity leave.
The counsellors are appointed to schools under the Psychosocial Service Project. However, the Social Justice Department is yet to allow them paid maternity leave, though contract staff in other departments do get it. They do not get medical leave or earned leave either. “People with postgraduate qualifications and on contract like us, in other departments and in other wings of the Social Justice Department, get maternity leave with pay. They are also paid more,” says a counsellor.
Counsellors are required to appear in courts, but do not get any travel allowance for it. They get a fixed travel allowance of Rs.750 a month for making community visits during the summer vacations, which often does not cover their expenses. Money spent on community visits to anganwadis on Saturdays the erst of the year is not reimbursed.
“When this government came to power, we got a pay hike of 50 per cent, after a gap of five to six years, to Rs.19,750 for those with experience of more than five years. We were also provided training after a number of years. The goverrnment has been positive. But maternity leave and our benefits need to be looked into,” says Semena M., president, Organization of Social Workers and Counsellors.