The Observer An IIJNM publication
Food ban in Cubbon Park remains ineffective as guards fail to stop people from carrying food | P 3
Vol 22, Issue 10
Thursday, October 27, 2022
Women employees demand them to deal with cases of harassment By Sneha T.S.
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Some ULBs are struggling to adopt Jalanidhi portal By Suryash Kumar
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overnment bodies strive to expand their range of online services, but some urban local bodies (ULBs) are struggling to provide online services to citizens. According to government data, Mysuru has the highest pendency rate for new tap connections under the Jalanidhi scheme. The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) received 730 applications. All of the applications are pending. Muhammad Mustafa, AEE, Vani Vilas Water Works, Mysuru, informed The Observer: “We are not accepting applications online because MCC has a different hierarchy structure, and we have a specifc structure...We manually submit it on the Jalanidhi portal. Jalanidhi software isn’t updated for a specific hierarchy.”Portals are not working as they should.. Continued on page 3
A safe environment for women outside their homes will encourage them to join the workforce | Credit: Sneha T.S. vivor to raise her voice,” he added. “An ICC consists of four members that includes a presiding officer, a senior woman employee, two members among the employ-
ees (preferences is given to people who are legally educated, or to someone who are in social work or activism related to women) and one external member (an advo-
cate). A company not having an ICC can be fined Rs 50,000.” Radhika Acharya (name changed), who works in an IT company in Bellandur, said: “I started working in the company in 2018. The company did not have an ICC till 2019. There are more than 50 women employees. It’s only after a few of us approached the HR department that a committee was set up.” Riya Agrawal, a content writer at EduCart Agra, said: “There are a total of 55-60 female employees in our firm. Though no harassment has happened here yet, I still, think the firm should have an ICC. The working hours of our office are from 8.30 am to 6.30 pm. We do overtime work too; sometimes it extends till 10 pm. It would be better if we had an ICC at our workplace.” ICC provides women with a secure work environment so that they can reach their full potential. Continued on page 3
In private companies, paternity leave remains a grey area
India needs paternity laws for fathers
By Siddhi Chauhan
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n India, government employees enjoy the benefit of paternity leave, but their counterparts in private companies struggle to get it. In 1961, Parliament passed the Maternity Benefit Act, which gives women benefits and perks during pregnancy. Aiswarya Saji, an advocate, explained: “There is no general law regarding paternity leave in India. This is why corporate companies always have the freedom to incorporate such laws in their internal management. They can alter the memorandums of understanding which can later be signed by the members and then the law will come into force.”
Website: theweeklyobserver.in Epaper: https://issuu.com/ theweeklyobserver
Footpath encroachment jeopardising pedestrians’ safety as they are forced to walk on Avenue Road | P 2
Despite a law, many cos do not have internal complaints panels espite a legal mandate, many workplaces do not have Internal Complaints Committees to deal with complaints of sexual harassment of women employees. Under Section 4 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, an employer who has 10 or more than 10 workers is required to establish an ICC. Advocate Alagammai Thomas, who is a member in an ICC of a company, said it is mandatory for all companies to have ICCs. “If a woman faces harassment at her workplace, generally she hesitates to file a complaint in a police station. Either she is threatened by the perpetrator or she is worried about her future at the workplace. To solve this problem, a company is required to set up an ICC. This enables the sur-
@theweeklyobserver
Saurabh C., a credit officer at the Bank of Baroda, informed The Observer that as a government employee, he gets paternity leave for 15 days. “The rules applied to government banks are also applicable to private bank,so private banks provide paternity leave. According to the Paternity Benefit Bill moved in 2017, fathers are entitled to take paid leave for a period: 15 days to 90 days. Since such rules do not bind private companies, they are free to formulate their policies.. While employees of Amazon
and Meesho enjoy paternity leave, their counterparts in other private companies are not even aware of such benefits. Kavita Sardana, HR manager in Haldari, a Bengaluru-based outlet of ISP Seeds, an agricultural company, said they offer paternity leave but no one applies for it as they are unaware. Anukul Tomar, a reporting head in Haldari, said he was not given paternity leave. His salary was not deducted as it was adjusted in the casual leave by his company. Anik Guho, HR manager at LabVantage Solutions, an IT company in Bengaluru, said his company has a policy of providing three days’ paternity leave. According to a Times of India report, India is among the 90 countries that do not have national policies that can confer upon fathers paternity benefits which can improve parenting experience siddhi.c@iijnm.org
News briefs Govt pushes telecom cos to launch 5G soon The government has unveiled new policy reforms for satellite communications services to ease procedures and streamline clearance processes, and nudged the telecom industry to substantially speed up the deployment of 5G towers. PTI
Will take US-India ties a notch up, says Trump
Former US President Donald Trump has promised that he will take America’s relationship with India to the next level if he wins the presidential election in 2024. He saidthis during a Diwali speech organised by the Republican Hindu Coalition in Florida.PTI
Rs 10-crore drugs seized in Assam, four arrested
The Assam police night seized drugs worth around Rs 10 crore, apprehended four drug peddlers and seized two vehicles in Karbi Anglong district on Wednesday night. ANI
Minors attacked at Delhi Rohingya camp
The Delhi police have lodged an FIR in a case where several minors of the Rohingya community were allegedly thrashed in the Madanpur Khadar area of Kalindi Kunj in the capital. ANI
US to attend meet on counter-terrorism
India is hostinga UN Counter Terrorism Committee Meeting in Delhi and Mumbai from October 27 to 29. A senior US diplomat will travel to India to attend the meeting and to address important issues between New Delhi and Washington. The theme of the meeting is “Countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes”.ANI
BCCI announces equal pay for men and women
The BCCI on Thursday announced equal match fee for its centrally-contracted female and male players in a bid to promote gender equality in the sport. As per the newly introduced system, Indian women cricketers will now receive the same pay as their male counterparts for Tests, T20 Internationals and one-day Internationals. Earlier, they received Rs 1 lakh each for ODIs and T20Is. PTI