The Hindu

• Women can lodge complaint if salaries are cut 
• Ban does not apply to the IT and ITES sector and industries
• Move described as a blow to gender equality

Bangalore, May 5: Shops, commercial establishments and hotels will have to re-schedule the working hours of their women staff to ensure that their duty hours do not stretch beyond 8 p.m. with the State Government deciding to strictly enforce, from July, the provision banning night shifts for women. The ban does not apply to the IT and ITES sector and industries, including factories.

The Government's decision comes in the wake of several complaints of harassment of women.

Officials of the Labour Department also cautioned against any attempts to cut the salaries of women staff just because their duty hours end at 8 p.m.

Complaint can be made

If the salaries are cut, women employees can lodge a complaint with Labour Department officials, who will initiate action against the employers, department officials told The Hindu . They also made it clear that the names of the complainants would not be disclosed to their employers.

How will this work, say, in the hospitality sector, which is a 24/7 business? And for women as for men, day and night make no difference. Says P.K. Mohan Kumar, general manager, Taj West End, "Women will be walking away at a time when business peaks, which is 8 p.m. Women make up the backbone of the sector, and 50 per cent of our frontline staff are women — whether it is guest relations, the front desk or housekeepers. It is also an industry where women can actually build careers. If we ban night shifts for them, they will no longer have a level playing field with men."

`A step back'

Speaking of the difficulties, he envisages reallocating the staff. "There will be no salary cut, but it is going to be difficult for us to replace these highly skilled workers. The services sector in India, like the rest of the world, is the fastest growing one. In an economy like ours, both the Government and the private sector have to look ahead, not pull ourselves back. It is ironic that while there is now a realisation on the need for gender equality, legislation such as this should come into place."

Mr. Kumar described the ban as selective, saying sections of the service sector had been exempted, such as the IT sector. "Our industry on the other hand, which is much safer for women, has been targeted. The focus should be on strengthening provisions for the safety of women... "

`Ensure safety'

B.K Goyal, president, Federation of Trade Associations of Central Bangalore, is not too worried about the ban. "Showrooms and malls generally do not have women workers at night, and they are allowed to go back by 7.30 or 8 p.m. in any case. But, on principle, I do not agree with the legislation because I do not believe in making these differentiations. If the Government feels that the security of women is at stake, then they should insist that provisions are made by companies to ensure safety, such as pick ups and drop backs."

Which is what the IT and ITES sector is doing anyway. Barring the rape and murder of call centre executive Pratibha Srikantamurthy, there have been no major incidents of women becoming the victims of crime.

According to the police, there have been incidents of employees of these companies being targets of muggers while returning home late at night. However, that these victims happened to be IT employees is a coincidence.