THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Leaving no stone unturned in the run-up to the decisive assembly election, the All India Professional Congress (AIPC), Kerala chapter, has decided to come up with an ‘Office Wellness Bill’. This is part of the strategy of AIPC and Congress to make inroads into an unfamiliar vote bank to win their confidence by addressing the issues facing the community of professionals.
In an effort to cash in on the community’s sentiments over the death of Keralite Chartered Accountant Anna Sebastian, who succumbed to workplace stress in July 2024, the AIPC will launch a campaign. The four-phased programme has been charted by the AIPC to address stress faced by professionals at their workplace.
Those working in IT, banking/financial, health, engineering, legal and academic sectors are included in the category. According to the assessment of AIPC, there are around 15- 20 lakh professionals in the state. “There are around three lakh IT professionals and four lakh each work in health and banking sectors,” state president of Professional Congress, Ranjith Balan, told TNIE.
“In 80 urban constituencies, the professionals have a decisive role. In several constituencies the winning margin between the Left and Congress is between 2,000 and 3,000 votes. The inclusive approach taken by the AIPC is likely to work in favour of the Congress. Our mission to address the challenges facing these communities is real,” he said.
The campaign is titled ‘For Anna, For All’ in memory of Anna Sebastian. In the first phase, ‘Speak Up,’ an extensive survey, was carried out by AIPC in the state among professionals and their parents in 14 districts by the district committees. These programmes were organised so that professionals could share their experiences and suggestions. Over 1,000 professionals participated.
Of these, 42.1 per cent were females and 57.8 per cent males. “In the second phase, public consultation programmes are being organised in districts in which policy experts will share their suggestions on formulating draft guidelines for an ‘Office Wellness Bill’ that ensures a healthy workplace for all professionals in Kerala. In the fourth phase, the policy document will be submitted to the Congress national and state leaderships for introducing the legislation in Congress-ruled states,” he said.