Lucknow: In the aftermath of the rape-murder of a woman resident doctor on the premises of the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the Uttar Pradesh government has issued a set of suggestions, termed “guiding principles” and “directions”, aimed at ensuring the safety of women at the workplace.
But administrators and police officials ThePrint spoke to said parts of the guidelines require more clarity, and that while they can be enforced in government offices, it will be difficult to do so in the case of smaller private companies.
The “guiding principles” and “directions” were issued for employers, divisional commissioners, police commissioners, district magistrates, senior superintendents of police (SSPs), chief medical officers (CMOs) and heads of departments (HoDs).
Installation of CCTV cameras, collection of identity proofs/address proofs/fingerprints of all employees, a dedicated official to hear emergency complaints, and secure transport services and fixed night duty timings for women are among the suggestions made in the guidelines issued to managerial staff at government and private workplaces.
In the government order issued last week, a copy of which has been accessed by ThePrint, Uttar Pradesh’s Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Deepak Kumar referred to the various existing laws dealing with the safety of women at the workplace.
These include the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, Factories Act, 1948, Uttar Pradesh Medicare Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2013, etc.
“It is notable that apart from ensuring safety of women at their workplace, safety of their travel routes, effective emergency response protocol, strong safety solutions, regular safety audit, awareness of legal information, women’s helpline and services, self defence training is also important,” read the government order.
Speaking to ThePrint, Kumar explained that the guidelines are applicable to all workplaces, including government ones. However, the measures are not binding.
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Regular safety audit, self defence training
According to the “guiding principles” and “directions”, an employer must invest in strong safety solutions, like CCTV cameras, access control system, security personnel and collection of identity proofs (driving licences, photo identity cards, address proofs, fingerprints, etc.) of all employees working in the organisation.
Emergency contact numbers must be clearly displayed on the premises and an official should be available for contact at any given time of day or night in case of emergencies.
It further suggests the arrangement of “a separate and safe waiting room and toilet” for women at the workplace.
Details of all visitors, including the name, organisation, address, motive of visit, etc., must be noted down and female employees must be provided with self defence training, it adds.
In addition, the guidelines say employers must set up an “emergency reaction protocol” including immediate reporting and incident response and that employees “be taught about reporting harassment, violence and safety concerns without the fear of revenge action”.
The guidelines call for a regular safety audit of the workplace, and identification and removal of security lapses. “Employees be included in this process to seek feedback about existing safety solutions and insights.”
Going further, the guidelines says night duty timings should be fixed so that women employees do not have to work beyond the fixed duration. The guidelines also say that the employer must facilitate “trusted and secure” transport services for women, like cab or shuttle services, so that “women employees can reach/leave the workplace without any fear,” and transport services should be rented out from only “well-established agencies”.
What the police must do
The guidelines also lists several measures for the police. Every police station should prepare a list of all workplaces—call centres, health establishments, offices, commercial establishments, cinema halls, multiplexes, hotel/restaurants, railway/bus stations—and identify night “hotspots” on the basis of details of female employees working there.
“Under supervision of gazetted officers, regular patrolling/checking be conducted at such hotspots by UP 112 police response vehicles (PRVs) and other patrol vehicles of the police,” it adds. The guidelines also ask that gazetted police officers regularly brief all private security guards employed by call centres, offices and create awareness among employers.
“The UP 112 escort service scheme, which offers free commute to women travelling alone between 10 pm-6 am in police response vehicles (PRVs), is already in place. This be publicised on a wide scale,” it adds. Further, it asks authorities to identify well-lit drop-off points with CCTV cameras for women taking an Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation bus or a private taxi after work.
‘Cannot issue mandatory directives for now’
“While the administrative and police agencies can implement these guidelines in government offices, it would be difficult to get private employers/offices to implement them. The big corporations can also do so, but it will be difficult to get small companies/employers,” a district police chief told ThePrint.
“To be honest, measures like gathering fingerprints can be tricky as they may spark privacy-related concerns. Under the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022, police can collect fingerprints of arrested accused and those convicted only,” the officer added.
Another senior officer concurred, asking who would be the final authority to ensure private companies/employers enforce the measures.
The government has, however, made it clear that for now, the “guiding principles” and “directions” are not mandatory.
“These measures are only suggestive so far. We cannot issue mandatory directives for now, since that would require a proper law. They can be enforced in government offices as many of them are already following some directions, like CCTV cameras and biometric attendance, which enables the offices to have information of employees,” Sanjeev Gupta, secretary (home), told ThePrint.
“We have requested all additional chief secretaries and principal secretaries to issue such directions to officers of their respective departments. Giving data like fingerprints can be done on a voluntary basis, although several offices have the biometric attendance system in place,” he said.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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