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Thursday, 25 July 2019
Constitution of GoM on Sexual Harassment at Workplace
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Constitution of GoM on Sexual Harassment at Workplace
Posted On: 25 JUL 2019 3:56PM by PIB Delhi
The Government of India vide order dated 24.10.2018 constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to examine the legal and institutional frameworks to deal with sexual harassment at workplace. Subsequent to the formation of the new government following the general election to the Lok Sabha, the Government of India has re-constituted the GoM. In the year 2017, MWCD launched an online complaint management system titled ‘Sexual Harassment electronic Box or SHe-Box (www.shebox.nic.in)’ for registering complaints related to sexual harassment of women at workplace. SHe-Box is an effort of Government of India to provide a single window access to every woman, irrespective of her work status, whether working in organised or unorganised, private and public sector, including Central/ State Ministries and districts, to facilitate the registration of complaint related to sexual harassment at workplace and for their speedy disposal. Those women who have already filed their complaints with the concerned committees constituted under The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 [SH Act], are also eligible to file their complaints over SHe-Box.
Inclusion in annual reports of the number of cases filed, if any, under the SH Act, and their disposal by the organizations by whom such reports are required to be prepared, is mandatory under Section 22 of the SH Act. Further, in response to the request of the Ministry of Women & Child Development, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs of the Government of India has amended the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 vide their notification dated 31st July, 2018 so as to make the inclusion in the report of the Board of Directors of a statement that the company has complied with provisions relating to constitution of Internal Committee under the SH Act, mandatory under Rule 8(5)(x) of these rules.
The total number of complaints received through SHe-Box is 612 which includes 196 from Central Government, 103 from State Government and 313 from Private organizations.
The Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India has constituted a GoM to examine the legal and institutional frameworks to deal with sexual harassment at workplace. The Government of India endeavours to provide protection against sexual harassment of women at workplace and for the prevention and redressal of complaints by women of sexual harassment and related matters at workplace effectively.
This information was given by the Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Freedom of Expression to Government Employees
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Freedom of Expression to Government Employees
Posted On: 25 JUL 2019 3:21PM by PIB Delhi
It is mentioned that as per Rule 8 of Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, no Government servant shall, except with the previous sanction of the Government, own wholly or in part, or conduct or participate in the editing or management of, any newspaper or other periodical publication or electronic in a public media. Further, Rule 9 of Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules provides inter-alia that no Government servant shall make any statement of fact or opinion in any form of communication, (i) which has the effect of an adverse criticism of any current or recent policy or action of the Central Government or a State Government or (ii) which is capable of embarrassing the relations between the Central Government and the Government of any State or (iii) which is capable of embarrassing the relations between the Central Government and the Government of any foreign State; subject to exceptions for bonafide expression of views by office-bearers of a trade union or association of Government servants for the purpose of safeguarding the conditions of service of such Government servants or for securing an improvement thereof or for views expressed by a Government servant in his official capacity or in the due performance of the duties assigned to him.
This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Rajya Sabha passes RTI Amendment Bill, 2019
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Rajya Sabha passes RTI Amendment Bill, 2019
Bill passed in Lok Sabha on 22nd July
No motivation to curtail the independence of the RTI Act: Dr Jitendra Singh
Posted On: 25 JUL 2019 8:01PM by PIB Delhi
After being passed in Lok Sabha recently, the RTI Amendment Bill, 2019 was passed by the Rajya Sabha today.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh said that there is no motivation to curtail the independence of the RTI Act. There is no interference as far as the independence of the Act is concerned, the Minister assured. Speaking about the fixation of the tenure of Information Commissioners, he clarified that it is never mentioned in the amendment that the Government will change it after every two years, as alleged by the Opposition. The Government will not have unbridled powers to amend the rules, he emphasised. The Minister said that the Government is open to the suggestions and the amendment is being done with a clean intention. On the issue of referring it to the Select Committee of the House, the Minister said that it is the prerogative of the members and it should be determined on the basis of the merit of the Bill.
The Minister said that the Government has always focused on the principle of ‘maximum governance, minimum government’. He mentioned about various such initiatives of the Government such as self attestation, abolition of interviews etc. The essence of these initiatives is aimed at accountability and citizen-centric approach of the Government. The Minister also said that ‘Mobile App’ was brought by the Government to enable the citizens to file RTI any time. He added that in the last five years, most of the information is available in the public domain.
Speaking about the objective of bringing this amendment, the Minister said that CIC is a statutory body and Election Commission is a Constitutional body. Therefore, the mandate of Election Commission of India and Central and State Information Commissions are different and needed to be determined accordingly. He clarified that this amendment has been brought in without any motivation. This will help in streamlining the RTI, he added. He assured that this will help to strengthen the RTI Act.
The Bill was not referred to a Select Committee, with 117 members voting against referring the bill to a select committee, and 75 members voting for it.
The Lok Sabha had passed the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on 22nd July. In this amendment, it is proposed to amend the Right to Information Act, 2005 so as to provide that the term of office of, and the salaries, allowances and other terms and conditions of service of, the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners and the State Chief Information Commissioner and the State Information Commissioners, shall be such as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
ORGANIZE PROTEST DEMONSTRATION ON 2nd AUGUST-2019
CONFEDERATION OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AND WORKERS HAVE GIVEN A CALL FOR HOLDING COUNTRY WIDE UNITED PROTEST AGITATION ON 2ND AUGUST-2019 AGAINST THE ANTI WORKER, ANTI PEOPLE POLICIES OF THE BJP GOVERNMENT INCLUDING MASS SCALE PRIVATIZATION AND SO CALLED LABOUR LAW REFORMS DESIGNED TO IMPOSE THE CONDITIONS OF SLAVERY ON WORKERS AND THE PEOPLE.
R.N. Parashar
Secretary General
NFPE
Wednesday, 24 July 2019
Policy for Non-Performing Civil Servants
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Policy for Non-Performing Civil Servants
Posted On: 24 JUL 2019 4:09PM by PIB Delhi
The provisions of Fundamental Rules (FR) 56(j), Rule 48 of Central Civil Services (CCS) (Pension) Rules, 1972 and Rule 16(3) (Amended) of All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) [AIS (DCRB)] Rules, 1958 lay down the policy of periodic review and premature retirement of Government servants, which is a continuous process. As per these, the Government has the absolute right to retire Government officials prematurely on the ground of lack of integrity or ineffectiveness, in public interest.
For the period July 2014-May 2019, a total of 36,756 Group-A and 82,654 Group-B officers have been reviewed under FR 56(j)/similar provisions, out of which FR 56(j)/ similar provisions have been invoked /recommended against 125 Group-A and 187 Group B officers.
This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Filling-up of posts on contract basis
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Filling-up of posts on contract basis
Posted On: 24 JUL 2019 4:10PM by PIB Delhi
The recruitment to the posts of class III (now Group ‘C’) has not been banned. With the acceptance of the recommendations of the 6th Central Pay Commission, Group ‘D’ posts have been merged with Group ‘C’ posts.
Recruitment to Group ‘C’ posts, including erstwhile Group ‘D’ posts in Government Departments/ Ministries is a continuous process. Vacancies are caused in Government sector due to retirement, resignation, death and/or new creation of posts. Such vacancies are regular in nature and the recruiting agencies like Staff Selection Commission, Railway Recruitment Boards, etc. are regularly conducting examinations for recruitment to such posts.
This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Maternity Benefits to the Women Employees
Ministry of Labour & Employment
Maternity Benefits to the Women Employees
Posted On: 24 JUL 2019 4:39PM by PIB Delhi
Government is working on an incentive Scheme of reimbursement of 07 weeks wages for entities that provide 26 weeks maternity benefits to their woman employees as provided for in the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017. To enable an entity to avail of the incentive, the women employees working in their entity should be a wage earner of less than Rs.15,000/- per month and a member of Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for at least one year and not covered by Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). The scheme is proposed to be administered through Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation and shall be implemented after obtaining the approval of the competent authority.
This information was given by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
The Code on Wages Bill, 2019 Introduced in Lok Sabha Today
Ministry of Labour & Employment
The Code on Wages Bill, 2019 Introduced in Lok Sabha Today
Posted On: 23 JUL 2019 3:29PM by PIB Delhi
The Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar introduced The Code on Wages Bill, 2019 in Lok Sabha today to amend and consolidate the laws relating to wages and bonus and matters connected therewith.
The Code on Wages Bill, 2019 subsumes relevant provisions of The Minimum Wages Act, 1948, The Payment of Wages Act, 1936, The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 and The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. After the enactment of the Code on Wages, all these four Acts will get repealed. The salient features of the Code are as following:
• The Code on Wage universalizes the provisions of minimum wages and timely payment of wages to all employees irrespective of the sector and wage ceiling. At present, the provisions of both Minimum Wages Act and Payment of Wages Act apply on workers below a particular wage ceiling working in Scheduled Employments only. This would ensure "Right to Sustenance" for every worker and intends to increase the legislative protection of minimum wage from existing about 40% to 100% workforce. This would ensure that every worker gets minimum wage which will also be accompanied by increase in the purchasing power of the worker thereby giving fillip to growth in the economy. Introduction of statutory Floor Wage to be computed based on minimum living conditions, will extend qualitative living conditions across the country to about 50 crore workers. It is envisaged that the states to notify payment of wages to the workers through digital mode.
• There are 12 definitions of wages in the different Labour Laws leading to litigation besides difficulty in its implementation. The definition has been simplified and is expected to reduce litigation and will entail at lesser cost of compliance for an employer. An establishment will also be benefited as the number of registers, returns, forms etc., not only can be electronically filed and maintained, but it is envisaged that through rules, not more than one template will be prescribed.
• At present, many of the states have multiple minimum wages. Through Code on Wages, the methodology to fix the minimum wages has been simplified and rationalised by doing away with type of employment as one of the criteria for fixation of minimum wage. The minimum wage fixation would primarily based on geography and skills. It will substantially reduce the number of minimum wages in the country from existing more than 2000 rates of minimum wages.
• Many changes have been introduced in the inspection regimes including web based randomised computerised inspection scheme, jurisdiction-free inspections, calling of information electronically for inspection, composition of fines etc. All these changes will be conducive for enforcement of labour laws with transparency and accountability.
• There were instances that due to smaller limitation period, the claims of the workers could not be raised. To protect the interest of the workers, the limitation period has been raised to 3 years and made uniform for filing claims for minimum wages, bonus, equal remuneration etc., as against existing varying period between 6 months to 2 years.
• It can be said that a historical step for ensuring statutory protection for minimum wage and timely payment of wage to 50 crore worker in the country has been taken through the Code on Wages besides promoting ease of living and ease of doing business.
The Code on Wages Bill was earlier introduced in the Lok Sabha on 10th August 2017 and was referred to Parliamentary Standing Committee which submitted its Report on 18th December 2018. However, owing to dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha, the Bill has lapsed. Therefore, a fresh Bill namely The Code on Wages Bill, 2019 has been drafted inter alia, after considering the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee and other suggestions of the stakeholders.
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Linking Rupay Card and Accounts with Aadhaar
Ministry of Finance
Linking Rupay Card and Accounts with Aadhaar
Posted On: 23 JUL 2019 5:38PM by PIB Delhi
With regard to linking of bank account with Aadhaar, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has apprised that “The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019” has been passed by the Parliament. The bill, inter-alia, has the provision for allowing the use of Aadhaar authentication on voluntary basis as acceptable Know Your Customer (KYC) document, by inserting Section 11A under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
Further, as per Reserve Bank of India (RBI’s) Master Direction on KYC dated 25.2.2016 (as amended in May 2019), banks are to obtain the Aadhaar number from an individual who is desirous of receiving any benefit or subsidy under any scheme notified under section 7 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (18 of 2016).
Account holders under Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) are provided with a RuPay Debit card, having an inbuilt accident insurance cover of Rs.1 lakh (Rs.2 lakh for PMJDY accounts opened after 28.08.2018). As apprised by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), linking of Aadhaar is not mandatory for activation of RuPay cards.
This was stated by Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
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