Providing Safety and Protection to Women Workers in Both Organised and Unorganised Sectors- (Press Information Bureau) (25 Jul 2018)

MANU/PIBU/1119/2018

Labour and Industrial

The Government has provided protective measures especially to women workers in various labour laws like the Factories Act, 1948, the Mines Act, 1952, the Plantation Labour Act, 1951 and the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 wherein the aspects of security, safety, health, restriction of hours of employment are provided. The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 also provides for payment of equal remuneration to men and women workers for same work or work of similar nature. Under Minimum wages Act, 1948, the wages for workers in the scheduled employments fixed by the appropriate Governments are equally applicable to both men and women. The Act does not discriminate on the basis of gender and the female workers are entitled for same wages as fixed by the appropriate Governments for their male counterparts engaged in the scheduled employments.

Further, the Government has enacted the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 which mandates to constitute Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) for complaints of sexual harassment.

The Government has prepared a preliminary draft of Labour Code on Occupation Safety, Health and Working Conditions, 2018 by simplifying, amalgamating and rationalizing the relevant provisions of the 13 Central Labour Laws relating to safety and health standards, working conditions, welfare provisions for employees, leave & working hours. The comments of stakeholders including general public have been invited on the said draft Code.

To ensure effective implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, the Government has developed an online complaint management system titled Sexual Harassment electronic-Box (SHe-Box) with a facility for registering online complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace to all women employees in the country, including all government and private employees. Government has also framed guidelines on prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at workplace by Government servants.

Further, the responsibility to maintain law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens rest primarily with the respective State Governments. Central Government has issued advisories for combating crime against women. This information was given by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Tags : PROTECTION WOMEN WORKERS ORGANISED UNORGANISED SECTORS