Women’s Rights at the Workplace

Dr Vibhuti Patel, Reader,

Centre for Women’s Studies,

Economic Department,

University of Mumbai.E-mail-vibhuti@vsnl.net

Phone-26770227 Fax-26528198Academic Advisor

Sophia Centre for Women’s Studies and DevelopmentSophia College Campus, Mumbai-400026

Statistical Profile of Women

• Women constitute ½ of the world’s population, 2/3 of the world’s labour force but get 1/10th of the world’s income and 1% of the world’s Wealth.

• As per 2001 Census, 23% of women are in the work force. 94% of all working women are in the informal sector.

Work participation rate

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Total male female

main Wsmarg WsNon Ws

Major Findings of Time use Survey

– “Women carry a disproportionately greater burden of work than men and since women are responsible for a greater share of non-SNA

– ( system of National Accounts) work in the care economy , they enter labour market already overburdened with work.” Report of Gender Diagnosis and Budgeting in India of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, NIPFP. December, 2001.

WORK PARTICIPATION RATES 1991The Female Economic Activity Rate (FEAR)

Census of India, 2001, Series 1

RURAL/

URBANMALES FEMALES

TOTAL 51.61 22.27

RURAL 52.58 26.79

URBAN 48.92 09.19

Distribution of Women Employees Across Industries

Industry %

Community, social & personnel services sectors 55.6

Manufacturing 21.4

Agriculture & Allied Occupation 9.8

Finance,insurance,real estate & business 4.9

Factories 14

Mines 6

Plantation 51

Women in the organized SectorWomen constitute only 14% of the total

employment in the organized sector. It is concentrated in Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Tamilnadu.In the urban areas, FEAR in tertiary sector has increased, from 37.6 % in 1983 to 52.9 % in 1999. (Economic Survey, 2002, GOI). Here, women workers and employees get relatively better wages, standard working hours, and the protection of labour laws.

Women in the Informal Sector94% of women workers are in the informal sector.There is pronounced declining trend in the importance of the self employed women in both, rural and urban areas. Erosion of credit/ loan facilities due to structural adjustment programme is a major reason for women being weeded out of the market. Safety net of social sector budget is also weak. Women workers in the informal sector are governed by the law of jungle.

Factors Affecting Women’s Labour Force Participation

• Changes in age-structure, urbanisation, level & nature of economic development, infrastructure, government policies, labour laws, nature of work,structure of family, culture & tradition affecting autonomy and control,fertility levels and childbearing practices, nature of housework,women’s property rights, education, age at marriage, migration, access to technology.

Segmentation in the labour market

• Nature of wage differentials (WD)-for identical tasks women are paid less. And women are confined to relatively inferior tasks, casual work.

• Causes of WD-patriarchal attitude, myths• Effects of WD- subordination of women,

son preference, man is treated as a “bread winner”- Head of the Household (HoH)

Affirmative Action to remove Wage Differential

*Legislative measures*Equal Remuneration Act*Formation of women’s union*Constitutional guarantees*Job reservation for women*Self Help Groups(SHGs

Demands of the Women’s Groups

•For forest dwellers, a comprehensive Minor Forest Produce Workers Act which regulates their work condition and provides social security and accident compensation to the forest workers.

•Sexual Harassment at Workplace act- Any covert or overt sexual behaviour, lewd remarks, physical advances against a woman employee by her male colleague/ boss .

Labour Legislations

Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1932.

The Minimum Wages Act, 1948

The Factories Act, 1948

Maternity Benefits Act,’61

Plantation Labour Act,’51

Bidi & Cigar Workers Act,’96

The Contract Labour Act, ’70

Bonded Labour Act, 1976

Equal Remune- ration Act,’76

Migration Workers’ Act,76

Child Labour (P&R) Act,1986

Legal Services Act, 1987

Special Facilities for Women*Special buses and trains for working women

*Part time work, Flexi time

*Prohibition of Night work

*Maternity benefits and day care centres

*Occupational health & Safety

*Women’s cooperatives, Self employed women

*Female headed households

*working women’s hostels at district/ tehsil levels

Women and Trade Unions(T.U.)

* Declining participation of women in the male dominated Trade Unions

*Women’s cells/crocuses being formed in the progressive unions

*Inter-union rivalry- violence

*Subculture of T.U.-language, habits

*Attitude of the state- police,administration, courts

*Attitude and reaction of the family

Women’s Action Plan for T.U.s

•Safety net to deal with SAP & Globalisation

•Food security, safe and cheap transport

•Multicultural Outlook to counter casteism, communalism ethnicism and racism

•Formation of Special Interest Groups- young working mothers, study circles, career guidance, therapeutic sessions., circulating library, speak out centres and cultural activities.

•Alternatives provided by SEWA, Annapurna

Role of Human Rights Organisations

•Implementation of statutory provision

•Guaranteeing state stipulated minimum wages

•Reduction in military budget

•Environmental issues- fuel,fodder, water

•Land rights of agrarian and tribal women

•Public education/ awareness generation

Women and Development Debate

Conventional indicators of DEVELOPMENT are economic growth, rise in national & per capita income and GDP, rapid pace of urbanisation, high mobility of labour & capital, expansion of industrial base, agrarian growth and growth of foreign trade.

This thinking has been challenged by gender economists as this indicators have not taken into consideration just distribution of resources, opprtunities and material wellbeing to majority of human beings, especially women.

Development Alternatives With Women

Women in Development-awareness about marginalisation of women, Towards Equality Report, The UN Charter, 1975.Equality, Deve, Peace

Women & Development- integration of women in the mainstream through Education, health and economic development of women- NPP, GOI.

Gender & Development- bending the existing power structure in favour of women thru’ empowerment of women in apex bodies of decision making. CEDAW

Human Development With Distributive Justice

Main indicators of human development are educational achievements, income, health profile and human rights.

Human Development Report, 2001 has provided development radars comprising of 8 indicators- indices of poverty, per capita consumption expenditure, life expectancy at age one, infant mortality rates, intensity of formal education, literacy rates, access to safe drinking water, proportion of households with pucca

houses. What about declining sex- ratio ?

Implications of Development Process on Women

*Women don’t have control ovewr resources in the subsistance sector.

*Women work for more hours & in return get less wages.

*Land reforms have taken away land rights of women as the titles were made in the name of men.

*Girl Child labour are extremely vulnerable.

*Absence of socvial services for women workers increases women’s plight at the time of pregnancy, old age, illness and destitution.

Use of conservative ideology to retrench and lay off women

Women become major victims of rationalisation, mechanisation and automation. When structural changes take place, women are not selected for skill upgradation, if they don’t assert collectively.

But, new international division of labour has changed this dynamics as the focus is on induction of young, moderately educated girls who would do minute and monotonous with concentration and dexterity.e.g. pharmaceuticals, computers, electronic, garments.

Women’s Challenges to the T.U.sPatriarchal structure of trade unions- Prejudice of male leaders- Women being treated as an auxiliary labour force that can be hired last at the time of economic expansion & fired first at the time of economic recession- Division of labour within Unions-Men as leaders and Women as supporters- Time & Place of Union meetings-Women’s role in collective bargaining & reflection of women’s aspirations and demands in the charter of demands- communal and casteist biases within T.U.Workers Education Programmes- CHILD LABOUR ?

Role of the UN System-ILO, UNICEF

International Labour Organisation

Standardisation of work hours

Child labour prevention

Occupational health and Safety

Compensation for displaced population

Human rights of ethnic minorities- wages & safety

Economic activities for women refugees

Thank you