Labour Legislations For Women – An Encouraging Factor For Women To Work?

As per the census of 2011, there are a total of 149.8 million working women in India – 121.8 million working in rural areas and 28 million working in the urban areas. Not only this, 35.9 million of the total working women workforce are working as cultivators and other 61.5 million as agricultural laborers. The statistics about working women in India speak that they are majorly working as laborers. So, the question which should be assertively asked is – are there enough labor legislations and policies which protect the interest of women workers, and rather not just protecting, are they encouraging them to work? Are we able to provide an infrastructure to women workers wherein they can work without being subjected to pay disparity, sexual assault, unequal treatment, harassment, maternity unfriendly infrastructure etc.?

India is also under an overhaul of age-old labor legislations to codify new age labor laws in order to rule out the outdated provisions and include the provisions relevant for the current world we live in. The newly codified labor code, aims to achieve gender equality and increased women participation in workforce by retaining the previous benefits and adding certain more. Since, the new labor code is not in force yet, the existing labor legislations are discussed in this article.

Policies, Programs & Legal Provisions

In India, there are various legislations which are women centric namely Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act, 2013, Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 along with individual provisions implicit in various other labor laws. The aim is to inculcate a sense of security, safety, well-being and enhancement of the skill-sets of women employees.

There are some key parameters which are the prime factors to be fulfilled by organizations employing women workers:

Equal Remuneration

Another important consideration at workplace is to maintain pay parity across genders. The floating of the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 was an attempt towards this cause. The aim was to ensure equal pay for man and woman for same work or for work of a similar nature. The aim was also to eliminate discrimination on the basis of gender at the time of recruitment.

The goal which is to be achieved does not end with the salary or wage parity. The policies shall also ensure that there is no discrimination faced by women workers even in other parameters like social security benefits, promotions, trainings etc.

Maternity Benefits

The Maternity Benefits Act, 1961 has been amended in 2017. These legislations list out provisions which help women with the benefits during pregnancy and after child-birth. With the amendment in place, paid maternity leave has been increased to twenty-six weeks both in the organized and the unorganized sector.

In a recent judgement of K Umadevi v. Government of Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court of India adjudged the right to maternity leave as a constitutional right, turning down the decision of the Madras High Court, which denied the leave on the ground of the birth of the third child. The Court emphasized on the maternity benefits being an indispensable part of women's reproductive rights.

Creche Facility

The mandatory threshold provided for the establishment of a creche is one of the most important provisions in the labor legislation for women workers. These child care centers are a statutory requirement as per Section 48 of the Factories Act, 1948, certain construction sites provided under Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, National Minimum Guidelines for Setting up and Running Creche established pursuant to Maternity Benefits (Amendment) Act, 2017, etc. However, if we talk about the on-ground reality of the establishment of creches, it is observed that despite the legislative mandate, it is not implemented by organizations even when they surpass the threshold provided. In a research study conducted within 12 IT sector employers by VV Giri National Labor Institute, it was observed that around 75% of the employers in Telangana, Maharashtra, Haryana and Karnataka had no creches established even after having more than 50 employees. The difficulties such as area allocation, infrastructural costs, maintenance staff etc. are a few constraints which the employers face for the implementation of the creches on site.

Workplace Harassment

One of the supreme reasons which discourage women to work is the lack of safe working place and the fear that mongers upon hearing cases of workplace harassment and sexual assaults. As per statistics of National Crime Records Bureau, around 400 cases of sexual harassment at work are logged every year since 2018.

Even after an operational legislation regulating the same, namely, Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, such a high number of workplace harassment cases only depict the ineffective implementation of the provisions in the organizations. One of the main reason for the failure is the lack of whistleblowing mechanisms and systems provided in the organizations. Women often hesitate in reporting incidents of sexual harassment when they are asked to report it in their own name, fearing the aftermath and the ensuing eyes on them. Therefore, building a safe space where women can confide and report such harassment incidents need to be built for effective results of the legislation.

Challenges Ahead

As long as there persists a disparity between the law and its implementation, there can never be achieved the goal of safe and sound working place for women. Equal pay, equal opportunity, equal welfare and equal respect for women at workplace still seems to be a utopian world, the reason being the poor enforcement and implementation of the women centric labor law provisions in India.

Not only this, all the sectors are not even brought within a legislative cover in India. Gig workers, informal workers, domestic workers and others are some of the sectors which employee huge number of women with zero regulation. The first step towards protecting these workers is to recognize the work and workers in these sectors.

Even in the regulated sectors, we often see that there is not much representation in the trade unions and representation of women. In order to solve the issues faced by women at workplace, there needs to be a platform through which women can make themselves heard by the authorities. Lack of representation is one of the major causes of women issues remaining overlooked and thus, unresolved. Legislations requiring certain mandatory percentage of representation in trade unions in the organizations having a specified threshold of women workers is one the many solutions which can help women speak up and get redressal of their issues.

Can any legislation be effective if the societal thought, perception and norms do not see a shift or evolution? The answer is a big NO. Legislations advocating women upliftment and empowerment will not shine if the society does not believe in the concept itself.

The etched patriarchy in the workplaces with a tint of undermining suitability of women for certain kinds of jobs is largely responsible for the very inefficiency of legal provisions attaining their due. What if an employer is averse to employing women? Can any legislation counter that mindset? Well, this is where awareness and grass root changes are required in India to uproot the age old orthodox believes embossed in the minds of generations. Seminars, talks, pamphlets, banners, school subjects, plays etc. can be some of the modes which can help break the barriers of taboos and believes and can help achieve the desired results of women empowerment. Therefore, social reform paired with legal development can help us achieve the desired economic growth of India, which cannot be dreamt of without greater women participation in the workforce.