Cabinet clears Sexual Harassment Bill

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Cabinet clears Sexual Harassment Bill

CNN-IBN

Posted on Nov 04, 2010 at 13:13

New Delhi: Women employees in India can now sue their colleagues for sexual

abuse and harassment after the Union Cabinet on Thursday finally approved the

introduction of the Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace

Bill, 2010 in Parliament.

The bill seeks to ensure protection of women against sexual harassment at the

workplace, both in public and private sectors whether organised or unorganized.

Women can now complain against harassment ranging from physical contact, demand

or requests for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks or showing

pornography.

The bill, applicable to all organised and unorganised sectors, also has a

penalty provision for employers who do not comply.

Implementation of the Bill will be the responsibility of the Central Government

in case of its own undertakings/establishments and of the State Governments in

respect of every workplace established, owned, controlled or wholly or

substantially financed by it as well as of private sector establishments falling

within their territory.

Through this implementation mechanism, every employer has the primary duty to

implement the provisions of law within his/her establishment while the State and

Central Governments have been made responsible for overseeing and ensuring

overall implementation of the law. The Governments will also be responsible for

maintaining data on the implementation of the law.

Salient features of the Bill are as follows:

1) The Bill proposes a definition of sexual harassment, which is as laid down by

the Honourable Supreme Court in Vishaka vs State of Rajasthan (1997).

Additionally it recognises the promise or threat to a woman's employment

prospects or creation of hostile work environment as 'sexual harassment' at

workplace and expressly seeks to prohibit such acts.

2) The Bill provides protection not only to women who are employed but also to

any woman who enters the workplace as a client, customer, apprentice, and daily

wageworker or in ad-hoc capacity. Students, research scholars in

colleges/university and patients in hospitals have also been covered. Further,

the Bill seeks to cover workplaces in the unorganised sectors.

3) The Bill provides for an effective complaints and redressal mechanism. Under

the proposed Bill, every employer is required to constitute an Internal

Complaints Committee. Since a large number of the establishments (41.2 million

out of 41.83 million as per Economic Census, 2005) in our country have less than

10 workers for whom it may not be feasible to set up an Internal Complaints

Committee (ICC), the Bill provides for setting up of Local Complaints Committee

(LCC) to be constituted by the designated District Officer at the district or

sub-district levels, depending upon the need. This twin mechanism would ensure

that women in any workplace, irrespective of its size or nature, have access to

a redressal mechanism. The LCCs will enquire into the complaints of sexual

harassment and recommend action to the employer or District Officer.

4) Employers who fail to comply with the provisions of the proposed Bill will be

punishable with a fine which may extend to Rs 50,000.

5) Since there is a possibility that during the pendency of the enquiry the

woman may be subject to threat and aggression, she has been given the option to

seek interim relief in the form of transfer either of her own or the respondent

or seek leave from work.

6) The Complaint Committees are required to complete the enquiry within 90 days

and a period of 60 days has been given to the employer/District Officer for

implementation of the recommendations of the Committee.

7) The Bill provides for safeguards in case of false or malicious complaint of

sexual harassment. However, mere inability to substantiate the complaint or

provide adequate proof would not make the complainant liable for punishment.

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