Tata Steel, a pioneering industrial enterprise has set one more milestone in its efforts to adequately protect female employees from being harassed at their workplaces. Tata Steel formally signed a historic Memorandum of Settlement with the Tata Workers Union, in the presence of Mrs. Nidhi Khare, IAS, Labour Commissioner, Government of Jharkhand, in Jamshedpur, today.

Speaking on this occasion, Mrs. Nidhi Khare, who had taken the trouble of travelling from Ranchi for this settlement said that this is a historic moment in light of the Supreme Court’s judgement as this will ensure protection for women employees and help in their development and career growth. Encouraging Tata Steel to undertake many more women related welfare measures in the future, she said that more and more women are joining the workforce and they need to be assured of their safety and their rights at their work place. The judgement and this agreement will encourage women employees of Tata Steel to gain their rightful place in the organization and grow with it, with confidence.

Mr Muthuraman said that Tata Steel, over the last 97 years, has had several firsts in the area of labour welfare. In yet another major initiative, Tata Steel Management and Tata Workers’ Union signed an agreement for including sexual harassment as an act of misconduct in the Works Standing Orders. Tata Steel has always believed in empowering women and has taken many initiatives in the direction and will continue to do so in future as well.

Tata Steel’s pioneering efforts in the area of employee welfare has resulted in more than 75 years of industrial harmony, in Jamshedpur. It has created benchmarks that the rest of the industrial community has followed. For women employees, Tata Steel introduced Maternity Benefit Scheme in 1928, which was enforced by law in India as late as 1946. In 1917, it set up the Welfare Department that was enacted by law as the Factories Act, in 1948.

Mr RBB Singh, President, Tata Workers Union, expressed his satisfaction with the agreement and said that the Tata Workers Union and Tata Steel have together espoused the cause of female employees, especially with the workforce which had a good number of them. This has also been well demonstrated by the Tejaswini programme under which women are encouraged and trained to undertake jobs, such as using heavy mobile equipment, which were traditionally handled by male employees.

As per the Memorandum of Settlement an additional clause has been incorporated in the Works Standing Orders of Tata Steel - the act of misconduct on “sexual harassment at work places”. This is a punishable act, if proved under the existing provisions of Works Standing Orders. This new clause has been inserted by Tata Steel under a directive issued by The Supreme Court of India for incorporation of such provision in the respective standing orders of the companies arising out of the in the Vishakha and others Vs. State of Rajasthan and others.

Tata Steel has also implemented the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s guideline for constitution of a Complaints Committee to look into the grievances of female employees regarding sexual harassment in work places, if any, under the Convenorship of Mrs. Rekha Seal, the Ethic Counsellor. This Committee consists of equal representations of female and male executives, total six in number, including female representative from NGO. This Committee is the first of its kind where female employees can directly lodge complaint of any unwelcome sexually determined behaviour whether directly, or by implication. The Committee is bound to take immediate action to investigate the matter and take penal action in accordance with the existing provisions of the Works Standing Orders.

Mr. B Muthuraman, MD, Tata Steel along with Dr. T Mukherjee, Dy. MD (Steel), Mr. AN Singh, Dy. MD (CS), Mr Niroop Mahanty, VP (HRM), signed the Settlement on behalf of Tata Steel. Signatories from the Tata Workers Union were Mr. RBB Singh, President, Mr. Raghunath Pandey, Dy President, Mr. DK Singh General Secretary, Mr. KNP Singh, Hony Secretary Supervisors and Technicians Unit and Mr. PN Singh Joint Secretary Supervisors and Technicians Unit.