KRISHNAGIRI: As of the second week of July, a total of 942 Internal Committees (ICs) have been formed in Krishnagiri district under The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (PoSH Act).
Additionally, the department has received nil reports from 1,007 industries and companies with fewer than ten employees, where committee formation is not mandated. However, hotels offering boarding and lodging, along with textile and jewelry showrooms, are yet to form ICs and submit their reports to the District Social Welfare Office (DSWO).
Sources from the Social Welfare Department told TNIE that these committees have been established in private and government educational institutions, government offices, industries, and private clinics. The PoSH Act was enacted to ensure a safe and secure work environment for all women and to provide an effective mechanism for redressing sexual harassment complaints.
The law mandates that organizations with ten or more employees must constitute an IC under Section 4 of the Act to receive and address complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Consequently, 942 committees were formed in the district following various awareness programs and letters sent to multiple departments by the district social welfare department.
When TNIE contacted District Social Welfare Officer (DSWO) R Sakthi Subashini, she said, "We have already conducted awareness programs and meetings for many hotels with boarding and lodging, and restaurants, urging them to form the committee through various departments, but they have failed to do so. A warning notice will be served to hotels and restaurants that do not form the committee, followed by fines."
She further added, "A few government offices and private companies still need to install complaint boxes and display information about committee members on their display boards and at various locations within the office. We are asking all departments to follow these procedures and update the committee information on Tamil Nadu government websites."
It is to be noted that when an organization has fewer than ten employees and therefore is not mandated to form an Internal Committee (IC) under the PoSH Act, individuals having complaints related to sexual harassment in the workplace can approach the Local Committee (LC).