Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - India (Ratification: 1960)

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Discrimination based on sex. Sexual harassment. The Committee notes that the Government refers in its report to the development of a handbook and a training module to promote the effective implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act 2013 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”). In addition, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) has issued advisories to some state governments/union territories administrations, government ministries/departments and business associations/chambers of commerce to ensure the implementation of the Act. In 2018, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, at the request of the MWCD, amended the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 making mandatory the inclusion of a statement about compliance with the constitution of internal complaints committees under the Act in the Report of the Board of Directors. The Government also informs about the creation of an online complaint management system (the Sexual Harassment electronic–Box) for registering complaints related to sexual harassment of women at the workplace. Once a complaint is submitted to the portal it is directly sent to the complaints committee of the employer concerned. The Committee notes that, according to the MWCD Annual Report 2022–23, there were 287 cases of sexual harassment of women at the workplace in 2022. The Committee recalls that it previously noted that the Act authorizes the internal or complaints committee to recommend action against a woman or any other person for lodging a malicious or false complaint, or any witness for producing false evidence or forged documents (section 14(1) and (2)). It considered that, due to the specific circumstances in which sexual harassment occurs and the fact that many victims are hesitant to file a complaint for fear of reprisals, giving the same complaints committee to which an aggrieved woman can lodge a complaint the power to recommend to the employer or District Officer to take action against her may not create a conducive environment for filing complaints on sexual harassment and may prevent women from making such complaints. In that regard, the Committee notes that section 14 of the Act clarifies that the mere inability to substantiate a complaint or failure to provide adequate proof does not invite action and that there have been court cases when this section has been invoked, for example Anita Suresh v. Union of India & Others, WP(C) 5114/2015, where the High Court of Delhi dismissed a writ petition filed by the complainant and passed an order directing the petitioner/complainant to pay a fine of 50,000 Indian rupees for filing a false complaint and misusing the provisions of the Act; or Union of India v. Reema Srinivasan Iyengar, WP Nos 10689, 24290 and 4339 of 2019, where the High Court of Madras observed that ‘[t]hough the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 is intended to have equal standing for women in the workplace and to have a cordial workplace in which their dignity and self-respect are protected, it cannot be allowed to be misused by women to harass someone with exaggerated or non-existent allegations”. The Committee also notes from the 2021 study on Women’s Rights in India by the National Human Rights Commission, that more than 90 per cent of women work in the informal economy where the Act is poorly implemented.

Noting the information above, the Committee urges the Government:

• (i) to adopt measures to prevent sexual harassment at work occurring, particularly towards workers in the informal economy; provide information on the monitoring and follow-up of employers’ compliance with their duties under the Act; on measures taken to facilitate access to justice, in particular for all informal economy workers and also the most geographically remote workers; and on the measures adopted to tackle barriers to access justice, including through strengthening protection of the confidentiality of proceedings and the privacy of all people involved;
• (ii) to provide information on its ongoing activities to raise awareness among the general public, employers’ and workers’ organizations, including workers in the informal economy and self-employed workers, of the existing legal framework following the adoption of the Act;
• (iii) to continue to provide information on the cases of sexual harassment dealt with by the competent bodies, including the local and internal complaintcommittees under the Act, specifying the nature of these cases and their outcome, notably the remedies provided and the penalties imposed (including cases where the petitioner/complainant was ordered to pay a fine for failure to provide adequate proof).

The Committee also reiterates its request to the Government to review the impact of section 14 of the Act (action against malicious or false complaints or false evidence) on the willingness of women and other persons to file complaints of sexual harassment without fear of reprisals. This should also include information on reprisals and efforts to prevent reprisals at workplaces employing less than ten employees and in agricultural workplaces.

Articles 1–3. Measures to address discrimination based on social origin. Regretting the absence of specific information in response to its previous observation, the Committee again asks the Government to:

• (i) undertake a comprehensive assessment of the progress made to date in addressing caste-based discrimination in employment and occupation;
• (ii) identify the additional measures needed in order to advance equality of opportunity and treatment for all men and women, irrespective of social origin, and to provide information in this respect. This information should include the results of any study conducted by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes with regard to education, training, employment and occupation;
• (iii) step up its efforts to raise public awareness of the prohibition of caste-based discrimination and to provide information on the specific measures taken to this end, including steps taken in cooperation with the social partners;
• (iv) provide information on the affirmative action measures adopted in the private sector to combat caste-based discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and treatment, irrespective of social origin, and on their impact.

Noting the Government’s indication that a Commission has been established to study the possibility of granting scheduled caste status to Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on any developments in this respect.

Manual scavengers. Referring to its previous observation on the application of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013 (MS Act 2013), the Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report concerning the range of rehabilitation benefits provided under the Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS) and the number of beneficiaries. The Government also informs that all 58,098 eligible manual scavengers identified in the surveys conducted at the initiative of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment during 2013 and 2018 have received the One-time Cash Assistance under the SRMS. Furthermore, the Government provides information about the initiatives undertaken to avoid hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, including the elaboration of a new scheme called “the National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem” (NAMASTE). The aims of NAMASTE include the formalization and rehabilitation of manual scavengers and persons engaged in hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks and the promotion of safe and mechanized cleaning of sewers and septic tanks by trained and certified sanitation workers. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that, after receiving reports from the social institutions working in this field about the existence of insanitary latrines, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched a mobile application, “Swachhata Abhiyaan” in 2020 to capture the data of insanitary latrines still existing and manual scavengers, if any, associated with them. Whereas 6,000 cases have been uploaded on the application, not a single insanitary latrine has been confirmed so far. Regarding the Committee’s request for information on the impact of the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation scheme for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers who ended this activity before the entry into force of the MS Act 2013, the Government refers to the existence of 12 success stories, without providing further details.

On the other hand, the Committee notes, from the follow-up report on the visit to India of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, that there is insufficient regulation and surveillance of pit emptying. The Special Rapporteur also expressed his concerns that the disparity in data reported by local officials – who are required to carry out surveys of manual scavengers in areas under their jurisdiction under the MS Act, 2013 – and those captured in the National Survey could reveal a lack of political will or of resources for addressing manual scavenging on the ground and in practice (A/HRC/45/10/Add.2, 2 September 2020, paragraphs 44 and 45). The Committee requests the Government to step up its efforts to monitor the application of the MS Act 2013 and provide information on the measures taken to this end and their results, including the follow-up measures envisaged to bridge any gaps identified in the application of this Act. Please also include information on the results of the surveys on manual scavengers conducted under the Act. In addition, the Committee reiterates its request for information on:

• (i) the number and nature of offences registered, investigations and prosecutions instigated and penalties imposed on private and public bodies under the Act;
• (ii) results of the assessments made concerning the actions taken so far by the states/union territories and to supply the results of the survey on manual scavengers in statutory towns where already completed.

The Committee furthermore asks the Government to continue to provide information on the rehabilitation measures provided for under the Act and their impact as well as information on the implementation of the NAMASTE scheme and its impact on promoting equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation irrespective of social origin.

Equality of opportunity and treatment between women and men. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, based on data from the Annual Periodic Labour Force Survey reports, that the estimated labour force participation rate for women aged 15 and above shows a growing trend, having increased from 30 per cent in 2019– 20 to 32.8 per cent in 2021–22. It also notes from the ILO Database of Labour Statistics (ILOSTAT) that, in 2023, the female labour force participation rate was 35.1 per cent. The Government also informs about legislative developments introduced with the adoption of the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and the Code on Social Security, 2020 to promote women’s employment, including the extension of paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks and the provision for mandatory crèche facilities in establishments having 50 or more employees, among others. Moreover, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has taken various initiatives directed at promoting women’s entrepreneurship. The Committee also notes information about training offered to women through a network of Women Industrial Training institutes, National Vocational Training Institutes and Regional Vocational Training Institutes and other measures to promote women’s labour participation through a variety of schemes, including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme which reserves one third of the jobs generated under the scheme for women. In addition, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) has adopted various measures for the empowerment of women and girls, including measures promoting access to health and education, providing support to women facing violence or in distress, and bringing about behavioural change in the society. Concerning the results achieved through all the measures adopted, the Government refers to findings from the National Family Health Survey – 5 (NFHS5) 2019–2021 which revealed, among others, that: (1) over 78.6 per cent of women owned bank accounts that they themselves used, which represented an improvement of 25 per cent over the past 5 years; (2) 43 per cent of women owned either a house or land alone or jointly compared to 38 per cent five years earlier; (3) 1 out of 5 non-farm businesses were headed and led by women; and (4) 88.7 per cent of women participated in major household decisions.

On the other hand, the Committee notes that the Decent Work Country Programme (2023–2027) identified the low female labour force participation rate as one of the challenges that needs to be addressed. The Committee also notes the findings of the 2021 study on Women’s Rights in India by the National Human Rights Commission, including among many others, the following: (1) the unavailability of adequate and quality crèches discourages women from joining workplaces; (2) despite parity in primary school enrolment, the drop-out rate and gender gap for girls’ education is higher, especially in rural areas; (3) there is a lower proportion of girls/women students in technical education/professional programmes especially where the cost of education is higher; (4) nearly 94 per cent of women workers are in the informal sector, for example in brick kilns, construction and agricultural work; as such, they do not benefit from the legislation on labour welfare or from the support of social workers; (5) women workers are recruited as part of a pair or family units, especially in brick kilns and the sugarcane industry; the practice of paying wages to the head of the family at piece rates, without ensuring any independent wage for the women who participate in the labour of production, remains unchecked despite legal provisions; and (6) it is a prevalent practice in private sector organizations to terminate the employment of pregnant women to avoid giving them maternity benefits.

The Committee requests the Government to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of the various measures taken in favour of women and girls to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation. This should include an assessment of efforts to address barriers hindering access to and participation in employment and occupation, to overcome occupational gender segregation in the formal and informal economy and to promote equality in the rural and private sectors. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the findings and any subsequent follow-up measures; (ii) the measures taken to address the recommendations arising out of the 2021 report of the National Human Rights Commission on Women’s Rights in India; and (iii) updated statistical information on the participation of men and women in employment and occupation, according to sector and employment status, in order to monitor progress over time.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.