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4 THE TRIBUNE Jobs&Careers | Worklife CHANDIGARH | WEDNESDAY | 26 SEPTEMBER 2012

Is this Bill the right pill?

SWATI RAI
The Indian workplace is all
set to become woman-
friendly in the wake of the
lower house of Parliament
passing the ‘Sexual Harass-
ment of Women at Work-
place’ (Prevention, Prohibi-
tion and Redressal), Bill
2010, spearheaded by
Women and Child Develop-
ment Minister Krishna
Tirath. On the face of it the
future looks bright but it
remains to be seen
whether this measure will
be enough to tackle the
mental barriers that we
have. We find out what the
ground situation is in the
corporate sector and what
changes will this Bill bring
about in the lives of an
ever-increasing women
workforce.
The concept of gender
equality, sensitisation and
woman empowerment at
workplace began to gain
momentum with the liber-
alisation of the Indian
economy in 1991 when
MNCs set anchor on Indi-
an shores. Yet, due to the
patriarchal mindset of our
society nothing much has
changed in the past couple
of decades. It is true that
sexual harassment is ram-
pant in the corporate sec-
tor and it is equally correct
to say that a majority of
such instances are
brushed under the carpet.
But the new Bill is a step
to change all this.
Will it change things?
It goes without saying that
laws and policies to pro-
tect women against such
exploitation will improve
women worker’s partici-
pation and productivity
and promote an egalitari-
an work culture. However,
the Bill does come with its
share of loopholes espe-
cially when it stipulates
that every office should
have an internal com-
plaints committee and
local complaints commit-
tee which is expected to
finish an enquiry in 90
days but no time limit has
been set to take action
against the guilty. It states
that if the complaint is
found to be of malicious
intent then action would
be taken against the com-
plainant. It gives the
woman a chance to apply
for transfer and even quit
work while the enquiry is
in progress or is ending.
The employers not adher-
ing to the provisions of the
Bill can be fined up to Rs
50,000 and repeated viola-
tions can lead to the can-
cellation of registration or
licence to hold business
However, the big question
that activists, women
employees, HR Heads and
CEOs are asking is whether
this Bill has enough teeth to
ensure a safer workplace
for women?
Dr. Samir Parikh, direc-
tor, department of mental
health and behavioural
sciences, Fortis Health-
care opines, “Laws may
not ensure 100 per cent
adherence yet these act as
deterrents. These also take
care of the rampant igno-
rance and raise the aware-
ness levels of society. Yet
we all have to be intro-
spectively honest and
admit that there are a
large percentage of women
who will still hesitate to
come forward and report
such incidents.”
Supriti Bhandary, Vice-
President, Talent Engage-
ment and Development,
Wipro Technologies says,
“Sexual harassment is a
violation of the dignity of
individuals and safety of
the workplace. It is an
intimidating form of vio-
lence, which negatively
affects the morale of the
published the redressal
channels available. There
is an online e-learn tool
available which the
employee goes through at
his/her desktop. These
practices have been very
effective any reported
SALIENT FEATURES case is dealt with severely
■ The Bill defines sexual by the management.”
harassment as physical Bhandary explains, “To
advances, request for sexual nip sexual harassment in
favours and passing sexually
the bud and to increase
coloured remarks.
awareness of employees,
■ It makes it mandatory for all multiple channels are being
offices, hospitals, institutions
and other workplaces to have used at Wipro. To cater to
an internal redressal the needs of a large employ-
mechanism for complaints ee base like ours and to
related to sexual harassment. leverage the online plat-
■ Every office must have an form that is used by employ-
internal complaints ees for other trainings, we
committee and local have built a comprehensive
complaints committee which case-based e-module for
is expected to finish an employees. We co-create
enquiry in 90 days but no awareness events with
time limit has been set to employees, through medi-
take action against the guilty.
ums such as street theatre,
■ If the complaint is found to wherein employees partic-
be of malicious intent then ipate in the story creation
action will be taken against the
woman employee concerned. and narration at public
places (like the office cafe-
■ The employers who don't
adhere to the provisions of teria). The new hire orien-
the Bill can be fined up to tation covers Wipro values
SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE Rs 50,000. and sexual harassment
policy awareness.”
Dr. Parikh states, “Such a
“Such a law will make the women workforce feel secure and into this matter.” tion and ensure registered law will make the women
enhance their work efficiency. I feel this should also apply equally to Talking about policy cabs are used for pick-and- workforce feel secure and
members of both genders and ensure a safer workplace. There ought to against sexual harassment drop facility.” enhance their work efficien-
be fair justice irrespective of someone’s gender. Success of such in his organisation, Ashu This brings us to the cy. I feel this should also
laws is a part of the larger whole. What is important is how it will make Malhotra, President, ground situation so far as apply equally to members of
women employees mentally secure.” Human Resources, Tulip these policies in the both genders and ensure a
DR. SAMIR PARIKH, DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AND Telecom says, “We have a organisations and their safer workplace. There
BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCES, FORTIS HEALTHCARE clearly defined policy implementation is con- ought to be fair justice irre-
against sexual harassment cerned. Shivshankar spective of someone’s gen-
at workplace. We also have informs of the whistle- der. Success of such laws is
victims, their lives, their lows a ‘zero tolerance’ pol- Diversity and Sustainabili- a few NGOs working with blower policy at HCLT, a part of the larger whole.
productivity and the spirit icy towards sexual harass- ty, HCL Technologies, us to arbitrate in matters “The principles of trust What is important is how it
of the workplace.” ment. We have a central states, “We assure confi- of such conflicts. We focus through transparency and will make women employ-
‘Prevention of Sexual dentiality and protection on creating an awareness accountability are at the ees mentally secure.”
Existing norms Harassment’ Committee, to all HCL employees from in this regard to curb such core of HCLT’s existence. Speaking about the
A large number of corpo- with a Chairperson, who is threats by the manage- instances in the organisa- Apart from a policy on necessity of clearly
rates already have a sys- a senior woman employee. ment or co-workers for fil- tion. One of our primary prevention and redressal defined laws against sexu-
tem in place to check the We also have expert-led ing a grievance or partici- aims is to establish an of sexual harassment at al harassment Malhotra
incidents of harassment. training sessions for the pating in an investigation. expected norm and behav- workplace, we also have a adds, “Such legislation is
Informing about the poli- committee members. It We have a policy in place iour in the organisation. whistle-blower channel required as this ensures
cies already in place helps them in conducting on prevention and redres- We have induction train- available to all stakehold- that there is a redressal
against sexual harassment effective enquiries and sal of sexual harassment at ing programmes where ers within or outside HCL mechanism in society and
at Wipro Technologies, ensuring that the spirit of workplace. HCL has also trainees are subtly to ensure strict compli- organisations, too. We do
Bhandary adds, “Wipro the policy is put to action set up a Secure Governing informed of the expected ance with ethical and have a procedure whereby
has had a comprehensive at every stage of the con- Council (SGC) with senior mores of social behaviour legal standards across the warning letters, suspen-
framework on prevention cern being resolved.” employees under the lead- and dress code. We have a company. We do specific sions and even dismissals
of sexual harassment for Srimathi Shivashankar, ership of the Head, Human self-defence programme trainings for managers, are done in case rules and
many years now and fol- Associate Vice-President, Resources (HR) to look running in the organisa- for employees and have regulation are violated.”

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a short fuse companies

among 10 worst
Dr. D.S. Bawa,
Campus Director
TRC-23810
Gurvinder Singh Bahra
Chairman

paymasters
in world
Indian companies are
among the world’s 10 low-
est paying employers in
the IT space, with their
mid-to-senior level staff
getting an average salary
of $ 38,767 (about Rs 21.5
In the tense environment at workplaces, it is vital to keep lakh) per annum — less
one’s sense of humour. than one-fourth of the IT
Having brought the sick Dharamsee Mill in the pay package at globally
Kurla area of Mumbai, Jamsetji Tata renamed it the top-paying Swiss firms.
Swadeshi Mill. Despite immense hard work, the mill Salaries in the IT sector
didn’t do well. So, Jamsetji started referring to it as of Switzerland are the
his ‘rotten mill’. When Jamsetji, on a visit to Nagpur, highest in the world at an
became unwell, a doctor was called. On asking Jam- average of $ 168,211 (about
setji how he felt, he answered, “I keep hearing sounds Rs 93 lakh) per annum, as
— of my rotten mill machinery.” per a study titled ‘World
When Tata Steel was launched, it was suggested to wide IT Salary 2012’.
Sir Fredrick, Chairman of Indian Railways, that Tatas The study, conducted by
could produce steel for railway lines. Fredrick jok- global recruitment service
ingly said, “If Tatas produce steel to our standards, provider
I’ll eat every pound of it.” When Tata Steel found MyHiringClub.com, has
acceptance by the Railways, Dorab Tata remarked, “If ranked India at eighth
Sir Fredrick were to keep his word, he sure would spot among 10 worst IT
have some slight indigestion.” paymasters globally.
When the leg of Krishna’s idol at Dakshineshwar On the other hand,
broke, Rani Rasmani, who owned the temple Switzerland stands at the
approached Ramakrishna Paramhans. “Should we cast top spot among the top-
the idol into the Ganga as suggested by the priests?” she paying nations in the IT
said. Ramakrishna said, “If one of your sons-in-law were sector. The study, which
to break a leg, would you throw him away? Bring the idol was conducted in August
to me and I’ll repair it.” this year, took into account
After the failed uprising of February 21, 1915 by Indi- the average salaries for
an revolutionaries, Rash Behari Bose fled from Lahore people with four and more
to Varanasi, disguised first as a scavenger and then as a years of experience for the
Pathan. Then he went to Chandernagore, his native Indian and other compa-
place, and spent a month there as a priest. nies. The report compared
One day, Bose saw a policeman coming towards him. the total annual cash com-
Even before Bose could decide what to do, the cop fell at pensation and total remu-
his feet, sought his blessings and went away. neration information for
Similarly, the freedom fighters knew that it was IT staff in more than 6,000
time to disperse after the Kakori Conspiracy on companies across 40 dif-
August 9, 1925. Chandra Shekhar Azad ran away to ferent countries and found
Dhimarpur, a small village near Jhansi, and became that employers in western
the priest of a Hanuman temple. When a policeman Europe were the best
asked him if he was Azad, he said that all devotees of paymasters.
Hanuman are azad (free). When the cop asked Azad to It also found that com-
appear before the police chief, he threatened to curse pensation in developed
him. The terrorised cop ran away. countries focus more on
Laugh…and the whole world will laugh with you. variable factors, such as
— Sai R. Vaidyanathan bonus schemes, to attract
The writer can be contacted at svaidyanathan@tribunemail.com staff. At the same time, the
emphasis remains on cash
compensation in the low-
er-paying countries.
“Experienced IT man-
agers are highly sought-
after in India and there is
strong competition to
attract and retain skilled
employees. MNCs rely heav-
ily on Indian IT managers,
so they need to ensure their
pay is competitive.
“Although pay in Asia
and Eastern Europe tends
to be much lower, it would
be difficult for firms to
outsource the IT manager
role to these regions.
Instead, we may see a
migration of IT skills from
lower paying nations to
places in Western Europe
and North America,”
MyHiringClub.com CEO
Rajesh Kumar said.
Interestingly, IT man-
agers in India fare better
than their counterparts in
neighbouring China,
where the average annual
compensation package
were lower at $ 38,624.
In addition, IT employ-
ees in India, scored better
than their peers in Bulgar-
ia, Vietnam, Indonesia, the
Philippines, Thailand and
Malaysia, where the aver-
age annual salaries were
even lower at $ 23,745, $
29,831, $ 33,768, $ 33,965, $
34,107 and $ 36,790,
respectively.
Among the best IT
salaries paying countries
Belgium bagged the sec-
ond position with an aver-
age salary of $ 144,980, fol-
lowed by Denmark ($
136,542), the US ($ 128,632)
and the UK ($ 127,890).
— Agencies