The Hindu : 'Law needed to check sexual harassment at workplace'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 13, 2003

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'Law needed to check sexual harassment at workplace'

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI DEC. 12. The general secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), M.K. Pandhe, today stressed the need for a special law to check the menace of sexual harassment at workplace.

Briefing reporters on the proceedings of the 11th conference of the CITU here, he said that speakers had pointed out that sexual harassment of women at workplace was rampant and the Central Government had not taken steps to implement the Supreme Court directive on the formation of complaints committees and punishment of the guilty. Mr. Pandhe said that complaints were not being dealt with properly. The Centre had not spelt out the punishment. Stringent punishment, and not a mere warning, is called for. The CITU secretary, K. Hemalata, said the decisions of complaints committees should be properly implemented.

The general secretary said that at the session on "problems of working women," speakers pointed out that working women faced inequalities. Women were the worst sufferers of globalisation.

Wherever there was retrenchment, they were first asked to leave. There was a tendency among trade unions to dismiss the problems of working women as not theirs — to be dealt with by women alone.

The CITU had made it clear that the demands of woman employees should also be brought to focus. Workers in the export processing zones and home-based workers were being "mercilessly exploited". A law was needed to protect these workers but employers opposed it.

The Government had "recklessly" introduced night shift for women without considering their requirements and giving them sufficient protection. Trade unions should take up these issues.

The CITU will hold a demonstration in front of Parliament during the budget session to draw attention to the problems being faced by working women. At the conference today, six commissions held discussions on "Imperialism, finance capital, globalisation and national sovereignty, attack on labour rights, unemployment-trade union perspective, fight for a genuine social security, unorganised labour and child labour."

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