The Work Place Bill 2010

Although the ‘Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at workplace Bill' will greatly contribute to realisation of their right to gender equality, life and liberty as well as equality in working conditions everywhere, the Bill deliberately excludes domestic workers from its ambit since Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath deems that "It may be more practical for them to take recourse to provisions under criminal law."

Seeking to provide protection to women against sexual harassment at all workplaces including public and the private sector, organised and unorganised besides making provision for prevention and redressal of complaints of sexual harassment, the proposed Bill on 'Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at workplace' has specifically left out domestic workers from the definition of employee- the most susceptible of the lot as Tirath reckons it may be difficult to enforce the provisions of the Bill within the privacy of homes since no domestic code of conduct has been prescribed.

Women who are employed as well as those who enter the work place as clients, customers or apprentices, daily wage worker or in ad hoc capacity, women at colleges or university and patients in hospitals-all have been covered under the proposed legislation.

Tirath cited such a legislation would not only give women a sense of security at the workplace but also encourage their participation in work, thereby resulting in their social and economic empowerment and subsequently, inclusive growth.

Acknowledging victim’s need for absolute confidentiality, the stigma and social discomfort associated with filing a case, a key feature of the bill states that no information on the complainant or the complaint can be divulged to the media public “in any manner”.

This would overshadow any provisions of the Right to Information Act 2005, prohibiting investigating officials, government officers and anyone else with access to the relevant information to unveil any of it. However when it comes to allowing information regarding justice provided to victims, the Bill will permit the necessary information to be disseminated but without compromising the victim’s identity.

Under the proposed bill an employer will be liable to a fine of Rs 50,000 for failure to comply with those provisions, which will require all employers to provide a safe working environment for women.

Based on the comprehensive definition of sexual harassment on the Supreme Court's Vishakha versus State of Rajasthan case (1997), the Bill includes any physical contact and advances or demand or request for sexual favour, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography and any other unwelcome physical, verbal, non-verbal contact of sexual nature.

Besides this, it also recognizes the promise or threat to a woman’s employment prospects or creation of hostile work environment as “sexual harassment” at workplace and explicitly seeks to make such acts illegal.

Whilst NAC (National Advisory Council) lauds the “initiative taken by the Government towards enactment of the Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill,

2010”; considering that domestic workers

forms a large section of women workers in India today, it strongly feels that the protection of the proposed legislation should be extended to domestic workers.

References:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/domestic-workers-left-out-in-sexual-harassment-at-workplace-bill/758959/

http://www.haqcrc.org/blogs/cabinet-clears-sexual-harassment-billleaves-domestic-workers-out-ambit

http://southasia.oneworld.net/opinioncomment/sexual-harassment-at-the-workplace-bill-justice-or-cruel-joke

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