Until a year ago, Selvi*, a 38-year-old from Tirunelveli, worked as a salesperson in a small textile shop in Chennai. “One of the male supervisors, who is related to the shop owner, would verbally abuse the women staff and misbehave with them. The instances of such abusive behaviour kept increasing. One day, I spoke up and told him it wasn’t fair for him to act that way. He became furious and started verbally abusing me. It escalated into an ugly confrontation, and I was thrown out of my job,” says Selvi.
As the sole breadwinner of her family, Selvi struggled to find another job for several months. Now, she works at a petrol bunk. When asked if she knew of the Local Complaints Committee (LCC) that addresses workplace harassment cases, she replied, “No, I couldn’t afford to take up the case legally anyway. When the incident happened, my immediate concern was finding another job to feed my family.”
Selvi’s case is not an isolated one. Thousands of women workers in the unorganised sector face many hurdles while dealing with sexual harassment at their workplace.
Women in the unorganised sector not aware of LCC
Most women workers are unaware they can take their complaints to the LCC. “Workers who are within the organised sector but are not protected by the same legal regulations and do not enjoy the same benefits as certain other categories of workers will also count as unorganised sector workers. This includes contract and temporary workers,” says M Shreela, a Chennai-based advocate.
According to a 2020 report by the Centre for Law and Policy Research, the LCC in Chennai has received only one complaint between 2014 and 2019. Following the Kalakshetra row, the then Chief Secretary, V Irai Anbu directed all the District Collectors to ensure strict implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2013 (POSH Law) in February 2023. Accordingly, Chennai reconstituted the LCC as per the guidelines of the POSH law in May 2023 and has received three complaints since then.
The Chennai District Social Welfare Department claims it has undertaken measures to popularise the POSH law. Since November 2023, they have been raising awareness in the resettlement areas of Chennai, which have several informal sector workers.
“Fewer cases do not mean all workspaces are safe for women. The LCC is meant to be the mechanism through which women from the unorganised sector can access justice for workplace harassment. However, the problem is that most of them are unaware of the LCC’s existence, let alone its roles and responsibilities,” says Jothilakshmi Sundaresan, an advocate at Madras High Court.
Lack of a survivor-support system for workplace harassment
“Many women regret complaining about workplace harassment, even in some of the organised sectors, which have a functional Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) and a support structure. It is an extremely draining process for the survivor,” adds Jothilakshmi.
The situation is even more challenging for women in the unorganised sector, as they lack job security and a strong support system. Unaware of the Local Complaints Committee (LCC), survivors of severe sexual abuse often resort to filing police complaints. “In most cases, the perpetrator is an influential person, leaving the survivor with no choice but to withdraw the case and change workplaces,” notes Vanessa Peter, an external committee member for several Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs).
As of now, the only way for a survivor to file a complaint is to give a physical petition to the LCC at the District Collectorate or to send an email to the District Social Welfare Officer at chndswo.4568@gmail.com or the District Collector at collrchn@nic.in. Neither of these is accessible for a worker in an unorganised sector.
Read more: Domestic workers face issues like wage theft, harassment, but have no one to complain to
When LCC becomes inaccessible, responsibility falls on the unions
“When access to justice, either through the Local Complaints Committee (LCC) or a police complaint, becomes difficult for women in the unorganised sector, the responsibility falls on the unions. However, unions are often seen as external entities and are not permitted to operate in many workplaces,” says Sujata Mody, President of the Tamil Nadu Women Workers’ Union.
“In the case of domestic workers, instances of sexual abuse occur in the employer’s home. There is no evidence unless the survivor is strong enough to speak out and has a support system,” notes M. Josephine Amala Valarmathi, State Coordinator of the National Domestic Workers Movement.
“Earlier we used to take up such cases to the police and the court. Now, we have constituted an ICC and a committee to deal with cases of violence against women in the National Domestic Workers Movement and provide legal support to the survivors through this,” she adds.
Unless these workers are attached to any organisation or union, they cannot avail themselves of legal remedy. “Very rarely do we find cases filed by unorganised sector workers independently,” notes Shreela. Notably, even the union representatives said they approached the police or the court but not the LCC as there was no information about the LCC members anywhere in the public forum.
In Part 1 of this series, we have mentioned the LCC members of Chennai and how one could reach them. While the Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department has launched an exclusive web portal for POSH law, experts suggest that the information on LCC members and the nodal officers of all districts along with their contact details be made public on the web portal.
Collective/third-party complaints will help bring more cases to LCC
The power imbalance prevents many women in the unorganised sector from complaining about workplace harassment. “Based on the discretion of the ICCs in the private establishment, provisions have been made to accept complaints by a third party as long as they have written consent from the survivor. Similarly, collective representation becomes important in the unorganised sector and the LCC should make such provisions clear,” says Shreela.
Officials from the Chennai District Social Welfare Department have clarified that they accept third-party complaints. “Similar to court proceedings, the Local Complaints Committee (LCC) will conduct an inquiry in which the survivor is required to participate. We will ensure that the survivor’s identity remains confidential; however, there is no provision allowing the survivor to avoid participating in the investigation,” an official from the department told Citizen Matters.
No budget allocation for LCC affects functionality
According to the department officials, no exclusive funds are allocated for the LCC. However, the committee operates based on the Collector’s discretionary funds. “There is no talk on the budget allocation for LCC. If funds are not allocated, how will it be functional,” asks Jothilakshmi.
POSH training not affordable to everyone
When the LCC is neither accessible nor functional, POSH training materials have turned into a commercial product. “Many mid-sized companies interested in establishing Internal Complaints Committees (ICC) or raising awareness about workplace harassment are willing to conduct training, but the individuals who offer such sessions charge up to Rs 30,000 each. The LCC should make these training materials readily available and provide POSH training free of charge,” says Jothilakshmi.
The Social Welfare Department also states that any organisation/institution that requires POSH training/awareness sessions could approach them and the department would conduct the sessions.
Recommendations
- The Social Welfare Department, the Women Development Corporation, GCC’s Gender and Policy Lab, One-stop centres, the Labour Department and all other welfare boards concerned should proactively create awareness about the LCC and implementation of POSH law.
- Public interest announcements can be made in movie theatres about LCC in vernacular languages.
- The authorities must reach out to women from the unorganised sector through self-help groups.
- Resource centres for women must be set up in vulnerable communities like resettlement areas.
The state, as an employer and enforcer of the law, has a model role to play. The role of LCC is crucial in preventing instances of workplace harassment in the unorganised sector. However, it does not stop there. A functional and accessible LCC will set a model for access to justice.
*name changed on request to ensure anonymity