ANS: The Union Ministry of Labour & Employment has initiated a new step for the implementation of the important research recommendations of a senior Professor of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences of IIT (ISM), Rajni Singh.
This step is intended to give momentum to ongoing measures to improve the status of the Transgender Community in society at large and to also provide a better working environment for them.
Professor Singh’s research project, Transgender Inclusivity: A Reality Check, funded by NHRC (National Human Rights Commission) made several recommendations that have been further recommended by The Union Ministry of Labour & Employment for implementation. These include creating workplace sexual harassment policies that should be transgender-inclusive; organizing frequent gender sensitization programmes with a special focus on the protection of Transgender rights.
The third suggestion made by Professor Singh that has been recommended for execution states that periodically advisory should be issued to the gender sensitization cell at the workplace so that they work effectively in including and protecting transgender rights, rather than being a dormant body.
Rahul Tyagi, Regional Labour Commission (C)-HQ of the Office of the Chief Labour Commissioner (C), Ministry of Labour and Employment, has sent letters to All Regional Heads of the Ministry of Labour and Employment instructing them to issue directives in their departments and offices to implement the abovementioned recommendations.
The letter issued from the Ministry of Labour & Employment on September 7 reads out “Transgenders are one who suffers from gender dysphoria and has remained as a marginalized community in the nation.”
“Therefore to provide impetus to improve their status in the society as a whole and also to provide a better working environment, some of the recommendations are provided by to Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India” further reads the letter.
“The study conducted as per the research project sanctioned by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to the IIT (ISM) concentrated on unravelling the social status of transgender persons living in the country with particular reference to those living in Kolkata” further said Singh and added that the main objective of the study was to explore the various factors responsible for the exclusion of Transgender, including the problems faced by them, facilities availed, and the Guru Chela system.
“Confidence building in the transgender persons through legal and social measures is required for which I have given the recommendations for the ministries including the Ministry of Home Affairs; Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment; Ministry of Education; Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Ministry of Information & Broadcasting; State Law Enforcement Department besides the Ministry of Labour & Employment.
“Besides interacting with the transgender persons as part of the research I had also conducted several rounds of meeting with TG activists, NGOs & the officials of State Transgender Welfare Boards,” said Singh.