DO NOT FEAR , BEAR OR IGNORE

                                 

DO NOT  FEAR , BEAR  OR  IGNORE ….

Long Back   a drunken  employee   physically assaulted   a very  senior , honest and courageous officer of  his  bank at  a  function organized in a hotel after banking hours .Such physical assaults outside the work place    were not uncommon in banks and   industrial undertakings .  Most of them went   unreported .  In the instant case , the bank decided to create  history .The bank management decided to deal this as a gross  misconduct  under the provisions of  Bipartite Settlement applicable in banks .The   employee  was dismissed after the conclusion of a proper   Departmental Inquiry .Aggrieved  with this punishment , the  employee  approached    a Court wherefrom he got the  relief of  getting his dismissal quashed on the ground that the misbehavior had taken place in a hotel and not inside the bank premises or at  the work place .  The court  held that  the provisions of the Bipartite  Settlement were  applicable to misbehaving employees  provided it had taken place inside the bank premises .  Aggrieved with the judgment  of the  court ,  the bank  management  appealed to other courts and  High court  in the legal hierarchy   where from no relief  was granted . The  bank filed an appeal in supreme court  where from a clear direction emerged .  It took the bank about 3 years to prove that the  venue  ( hotel ) engaged for the bank  function  was  an extension of bank premises in absence of any defined  provision in the Bipartite Settlement .I quote the operative paragraph of the judgement:

“  After careful scrutiny of records and  the provisions of the  Bipartite Settlements of the bank, this bench  has come to the conclusion   that the hotel in the instant case is an extension of premises   . Since the bank  paid rent for the official function and only bank employees and the customers  had  come for  Business development   function , every statute , ruling ,paras of  Bipartite Settlement governing misbehavior inside the bank  premises  applies to the hotel premises taken on rent for a business development   function  by the Bank .  Hence the action of the bank in dismissing  the employee after proper inquiry is lawful and  justified .”

 The order of the  lower court    was  accordingly set aside and the  punishment granted by the bank was restored. The message was clear and loud .  Misbehavior in any  shape of  outside the  work place was also punishable . After this judgment, i hardly heard any such instance of physical assault or gross misbehavior by employees outside premises at least in  Banking Industry   .

I have quoted this judgment  to bring home a point which our sisters , daughters and women folk need to know in respect of  sexual harassment at  work place.

  Sexual harassment  of women at the work place is a serious problem in the country . Had not the work place been broadly defined by the new provisions  , the victim of  the  Tarun Tejpal incident  needed to fight a long legal battle to establish that the Goa  Hotel or its lift was also an extension of work place .
The Sexual Harassment Act of 2013 ( Which also incorporates  1997  Vishaka case   guidelines of  supreme court    on this aspect ) goes    heavily in  favour  of  working  women as working place  now means actual work place or  Inside the bus taken to go to work place   or  for  returning from the  work place   and any   extension of work place   ( As in  the bank  case cited above ).

 As per The Sexual Harassment Act of 2013 ,sexual harassment also includes

(a) Explicit or Implied promise of preferential treatment in employment  on account of a sexual favour .
(b)  Explicit or Implied threat  of detrimental  treatment in employment  on account of a  denial of sexual favour.
(c) Humiliating treatment that affect her  work.
(d) Intimidation at work.
(e)  Physical contact and advances .
(f) Sexually coloured remarks .
(g)  Showing pornographic material/ literature .
(h)  Any Verbal conduct of sexual nature.

SO .

(1 )KNOW WHAT CONSTITUTES   SEXUAL HARASSMENT  AT WORK PLACE  UNDER THE NEW LAW.

(2) NEVER BE AFRAID  OF REPORTING ANY  IMPROPER  BEHAVIOUR . DO NOT FEAR, BEAR OR IGNORE ..

(3) DEMAND COMPLAINT REDRESSAL MACHINERY IN YOUR ORGANIZATION . IT IS MANDATORY AS  PER SUPREME  COURT GUIDELINES .SEEK  DETAILS OF THE  MEMBERS . AS PER GUIDELINES THE COMMITTEE MUST BE CHAIRED BY A WOMAN AND MUST HAVE A CIVIL SOCIETY REPRESENTATIVE. AT LEAST HALF OF THE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE SHOULD BE WOMEN . THIS IS APPLICABLE TO ALL ORGANIZATIONS , REGISTERED UNDERTAKINGS ,POLITICAL PARTIES , NGOs AND  TRUSTS .

(4) KNOW THAT THE EMPLOYER WHO FAILS TO COMPLY WITH  NEW PROVISIONS  FACES A  PENALTY OF RS 50,000/= ON ACCOUNT OF FIRST OFFENCE AND DOUBLE THE AMOUNT ON SECOND OFFENCE OR THEREAFTER. .THE LICENSE TO OPERATE CAN ALSO BE WITHDRAWN FOR REPEATED VIOLATIONS OF THE REVISED GUIDELINES  .

(5 ) DISCLOSURE OF THE NAME OF THE COMPLAINANT BY ANY PERSON OR ORGANIZATION  OR COMMITTEE  OR A  MEMBER SHALL  ATTRACT  ACTION  UNDER  THE  NEW GUIDELINES . YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO PRIVACY AS WELL.

DO THESE  LATEST GUIDELINES NEED ANY FURTHER AMMENDMENT  ?

 (1 )I think the room for conciliation needs to be scrapped in the  new provisions   . This appears to be a little detrimental to the interests of the  Women  . A  parliament member  from Kerala went scot free for his  misbehavior with a film actress in a function . The actress was made to withdraw her complaint after what was called a public apology  from the  MP. She had to approach a police station as the political party to which the MP belonged   had  not constituted any committee  as per supreme court guidelines for  redressal of complaints with regard to sexual harassment at  work. I doubt whether political parties across the country comply  with the new  provisions of supreme Court guidelines .

 (2 ) I believe  guidelines with regard to   the display  of statutory notice boards ( as to what constitutes sexual harassment and the punishments thereof as  also the names of  grievance redressal committee members and their addresses )   are still not complied with in most of the organizations  . A statute needs to be created for  punishments and fines for non display .  The display of these boards at  work places shall not only help  in warding off  culprits but also in  informing  and educating  women employees as also in  enthusing  confidence amongst them for reporting  acts of sexual  harassment .

(3 ) Where the employee is forced to go to a police station ( for lodging her complaint)  on account of  non existence of  the grievance redressal machinery in her organization  for   acts of sexual misbehavior with her    , the fine of rupees fifty thousands should go to the aggrieved employee only .

 (4 ) Government must also create a monitoring apparatus at national / apex level as also at state level to  monitor the disposal of complaints by women employees to their  employers .  This apparatus should have powers to deal with recalcitrant organizations . The law provides punishments  like withholding promotion ,transfer and  termination to be awarded to culprits  by the  grievance  redressal committee. Are these awarded ?

 And surprisingly, It is Manu only who is vociferous on punishing culprits who are unjust to women. I quote Manusmriti  ..

“ The gods, the Danavas, the Gandharvas, the Rakshasas, the bird and snake deities even give the enjoyments due from them only, if they are tormented by the fear of punishment.”
(  Chapter VII verse  23 )

“ The whole world is kept in order by punishment, for a guiltless man is hard to find; through fear of punishment the whole world yields the enjoyments which it owes.”
(  Chapter VII verse  22 )

“ They declare that king to be a just inflicter of punishment, who is truthful, who acts after due consideration, who is wise, and who knows (the respective value of) virtue, pleasure and wealth.. . A king who properly inflicts (punishment), prospers with respect to (those) three (means of happiness); but he who is voluptuous, partial, and deceitful will be destroyed, even through the (unjust) punishment (which he inflicts ).”
(  Chapter VII verse 26 and 27 )

“Offering presents to a woman, romping with her, touching her ornaments and dress, sitting with her on a bed, all (these acts) are considered adulterous acts (samgrahana).”
(  Chapter VIII verse  357 )

“. Those who rape or molest women or incite them into adultery should be given harshest punishment that creates fear among others to even think of such a crime.”
(Chapter VIII verse  352)

“ Be it the father, mother, teacher, friend, wife, son or priest, one who conducts a crime is punishable by the ruler.”
(Chapter VIII  verse 335)

I end this post with  lines from a poem of urdu poet Sahir Ludhianavi ,

Madad chaahati hai ye hava ki Beti
Yashodaa ki ham_jins Radha ki Beti
Payambar ki ummat zulekhaa ki Beti
Sanakhwaan e Taqdees e Mashriq Kahaan hain?
Jinhe Naaz hai hind par Woh  kahan  hain ?…………………………

 I have also rendered the above  lines to simple English  as under ..

“ Help !  ” cries this daughter of Eve  ,
The like of Yashoda ! A  Daughter of Radha !
From Prophet’s progeny ! A daughter of Zuleikha !
Where are you ? O you  who cry loud about the  purity of east ?
Where are you ? You who feel proud of the ways of the orient ?

( Avtar Mota )


CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.