PCB shows the way

The Pakistan Cricket Board has introduced a stimulating set of reforms on parental support for both male and female cricketers. The cricket board has even gone beyond what is incumbent under the existing law in the country, as it unveils its Parental Support Policy. Under the new policy, female cricketers will be entitled to year-long paid maternity leave; they can also opt for a non-playing role as they get closer to their maternity leave; when leaving for maternity leave, they will be guaranteed a contract for the following year; and on their return, the cricket board will provide them support to recover after the delivery. Male cricketers are also entitled to a month-long paid paternity leave.

The Maternity and Paternity Leave Bill, 2018, passed by the Senate in January 2020, makes it incumbent upon both public and private sector organisations to grant a six-month maternal leave and one-month parental leave thrice during service. While there is no word on when the bill will be tabled in the National Assembly, a law already in place allows 90-day maternity leave to female employees, and 48 leaves in a year only for male government employees. The PCB has rather enhanced the concessions in case of female cricketers. The cricket board’s new parental policy is meant to motivate professional athletes along their journey to parenthood and on their return to the field post-childbirth when they are required to keep a balance between their professional and parental responsibilities.

The PCB has taken the lead over many cricket boards in the developed world, as only the Australian and New Zealand cricket boards are known to have such a motiving set of parental leave policies. The PCB’s Parental Support Policy is worth emulating — not just for the various sports federations and boards in the country but also for the industry as well as public and private organisations.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2021.

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