The Hindu : `Give one-third representation to women on farm labour board'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 26, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`Give one-third representation to women on farm labour board'

By Divya Ramamurthi

CHENNAI, JAN. 25. The Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women is writing to the Government to provide women at least one-third representation in the newly-constituted agriculture labourers' welfare board.

In a letter, it has asked the Government to ``rectify its mistake and appoint women members to at least one-third positions in three categories of the board.''

As union members find no representation on the board, the Government was being asked to appoint women who represented large bodies of agricultural labourers, said V. Vasanthi Devi, chairperson.

The letter follows a request made to the commission by K. Shanmugavelayutham, convener of the TN Forces, a voluntary organisation. ``The 2001 census estimates that almost 51 per cent of the agricultural workforce in Tamil Nadu is women. In this situation, there should be representation for women on these boards and it should be more than half,'' he says.

Mina Swaminathan, activist, says, ``Women members who represent the interests of agricultural labourers should be part of the board.''

R. Geeta, additional secretary, All-India Nirman Mazdoor Panchayat Sangam, says: ``The Government has overlooked the basic democratic set-up in constituting the board. It needs to be corrected immediately.''

The union members are also seeking representation on the board. ``Its constitution is faulty. Nothing can be achieved without representation from union members. We work in this field,'' says T.R.S. Mani, State secretary, All-India Trade Union Congress.

The board, constituted on October 17, 2003, has nine members each in the three categories — government members, landowners and agricultural labourers.

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