CHENNAI : Women working in informal sectors as domestic help or construction workers found a forum to open up in city-based NGO Prajnya’s symposium ‘No recourse: Workplace safety and rights for women workers in the informal and unorganised sectors’ on Tuesday. Activists, union representatives and workers discussed the lack of recognition of their work and a grievance mechanism to raise sensitive issues including sexual harassment.
“We demand that the ILO convention be ratified,” said Valarmathi, state coordinator, National Domestic Workers Movement. The International Labour Organization (ILO) had adopted the new convention that included rights in a written contract, minimum wages, and freedom from discrimination and forced labour, at its 100th annual meeting in June 2011.
V Maheswaran, secretary of National Association of Street Vendors of India said, “Women set up stalls on the street because what they earn supports their families. But, they are often subjected to sexual abuse, sometimes even by the police.”
The language used by police personnel to address street vendors, women in particular, is often demeaning, he added. “Street vendors should be given identity cards on priority,” said Sekaran, a street vendor at Marina Beach.Participants emphasised the need for regular meetings with women to enable them to talk about workplace harassment.