Private firms may have to inform govt of sexual harassment committees
NEW DELHI: In a move to empower women working in the private sector, the Centre is all set to make it mandatory for private companies in India to inform the government about constitution of internal complaints committee (ICC) as mandated under the Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013.
This has been necessitated after the women and child development (WCD) ministry found that implementation of various provisions of the act by private companies including setting up of ICC has by and large remained perfunctory. “Most of the government and certainly 90% of the private sector have still not got the sexual harassment committees in place,” WCD minister Maneka Gandhi had informed Parliament in March.
Gandhi has now shot off a letter to her counterpart in the corporate affairs ministry to notify the constitution of ICC as a mandatory disclosure under Section 134 of the Companies Act, 2013. Section 134 of the act enables the Centre to mandate any non-financial disclosure to be made in the directors’ report of a company. A directors’ report explains to shareholders the company’s affairs including the
ICC CAN RECOMMEND WITHHOLDING OF PROMOTIONS, SALARY AND ENDING SERVICE IF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IS PROVED
nature and scope of its business.
“In order to ensure that private sector companies also constitute ICC as mandated under Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, it will be appropriate to ask the companies to disclose the constitution of the IIC in their annual disclosures filed under the provision of Section 134 of the Companies Act 2013,” Gandhi’s letter states.
Parliament had in February 2013 cleared the act that mandates all organisations, both in the government and private sector, having more than 10 employees should set up an internal complaints committee to handle sexual harassment related grievances within 90 days or face penalty of ` 50,000.
ICC should comprise a presiding officer and three members, nominated by the company. 50% of the members who are nominated shall be women. The ICC can recommend withholding promotions, salary and even termination of service if a charge of sexual harassment is proved.