Governor wants govt to withdraw controversial Act Ministers for a rethink on ‘no night shift for women’

Governor wants govt to withdraw controversial Act Ministers for a rethink on ‘no night shift for women’
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: This will come as a relief to thousands of working women: the controversial move barring them from night shift may, in the nick of time, be stopped from becoming a law.
Defusing the confusion and uproar caused by labour minister Iqbal Ansari’s “goof-up’’ on the legislation, governor T N Chaturvedi on Thursday has asked the state government not to enforce the Act, to which he had given assent.
Sources told The Times of India the governor has taken serious exception to the “misreading’’ of an innocuous piece of legislation by the minister when its provisions were well intended. The governor had given his assent to the Karnataka Shops and
Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2007, passed in the last legislature session. The amendment was to the parent Act of 1961.
Sources said the amendment sought enhancing the penalty even for employers of petty shops which closed at 8 pm if they failed to provide security to women. “The amendment did not include factories, major commercial establishments or even the hospitality sector. In reality, it was not going to affect anybody. We don’t know in which century the minister lives to say that night shift would be banned for women barring those working in the IT/BT sectors and essential services.’’
It is learnt the governor observed that if the government was going to interpret the Bill in such a manner, it was “violative of constitutional equality and of social policy followed by the Centre’’. Since it amounted to gender inequality, the governor wanted the notification to be withdrawn. Over 20 Bills were sent for the governor’s assent at one go after the session ended in April. The controversial Bill was one of them. “The legislation, worded in ‘1961 English’, was not clear. But now it will not be enforced,’’ the sources said.
Interestingly, labour commissioner K Jothiramalingam is reported to have met the governor recently seeking permission to bring an amendment to the main Act, which will allow women to work in factories and hazardous professions at night.
“The hullabaloo was caused by the minister when the intentions were good to protect women employed in a minuscule sector. But the minister’s misreading led to all-round confusion. He had maintained that doing night shift was against Indian tradition. Women are not meant just for bearing children,’’ the sources said. Most of Ansari’s cabinet colleagues were befuddled by the move. Many were vocal in their condemnation. Like G T Deve Gowda (co-operation minister), who said: “I assume Ansari has seen Dubai, where women work at night but have been provided foolproof security... By banning night shift, the government will be taking a retrograde step. It is absurd to say women doing night shifts is against Indian culture as our culture fosters equality to the fair sex.’’
Some ministers said they had no option but to agree when the proposal came up for discussion in the cabinet due to “coalition compulsions’’.
Women across the spectrum said it was up to them to decide whether to work on night shift or not.
However, Ansari stuck to his guns.
THE ACT
Section 24 of the Karnataka Shops and Establishment Act prohibits children from being employed.
Section 25 of the 1961 Act, which has been in vogue, prohibits women and young persons (14 to 18 years of age) from working beyond 8 pm.
All that the 2007 amendment did was to bring in the penalty clause of section 24 to section 25 too.
THE GOOF-UP
Labour minister Iqbal Ansari misunderstood the provisions and announced a blanket ban on night shift for women.
Women bureaucrats
Is it fair to tell women they can’t work at night when they want to? Are we turning the clock back by not providing equal opportunities to women? The solution is not a ban.