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SCOPE –ILO study provides a very useful starting point for Guidelines and policy on WfH: Ms. Anuradha Prasad, Special Secretary, MoLE

Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) & International Labour Organization (ILO), Geneva released a comprehensive study on ‘Impact of Working from Home’ (WfH) on Women Executives and Managers in Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) in India with Guidelines for a Gender Sensitive WfH Policy in PSEs.  The report was released virtually in the presence of Ms. Anuradha Prasad, Special Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment; Ms. Dagmar Walter, Country Director, ILO; Ms. Soma Mondal, Chairman, SAIL and Chairperson, SCOPE; Mr. Atul Sobti, Director General, SCOPE; Mr. Ranjan Mohapatra, Chairperson, Director (HR), IOCL & Chairperson, SCOPE HR Committee and Ms. Sanchir Tugschimeg, Senior Advisor, ILO, Geneva. Dr. Malika Basu, Consultant, ILO gave a presentation of the report. The launch was attended by about 366 participants.

On the occasion, Ms. Anuradha Prasad complimented SCOPE-ILO on undertaking the study on a very topical subject. She further shared that while the Govt. has notified Draft Model Standing Order 2020 under the Industrial Relations Code for Service Sector in which specific provisions have been made for Work from Home(WfH) subject to specified conditions and as detailed guidelines need to be evolved, SCOPE –ILO study provides a very useful starting point for such guidelines and policy.

Ms. Dagmar Walter stated that the study is a landmark moment in SCOPE- ILO association and has reiterated the need for creation of an inclusive workplace to upsurge women participation in workforce.

Calling it a proud moment for SCOPE, Ms. Soma Mondal said that PSEs have time and again instantaneously responded to the transformations at workplace and the pandemic was no exception. She added that the report gives an optimised insight into how women workforce are managing this new normal.

Mr. Atul Sobti stated that this is a path breaking study where highest number of public sector women employees participated. He added that the report is an important step towards developing Gender inclusive work policy in PSEs that facilitates equal opportunities to women workforce. He called for creation of better opportunities to encourage more women at work and also advised senior management to gain insight from the Study and Guidelines launched.

Ms. Sanchir Tugschimeg commended the active and consistent effort of SCOPE and ILO encouraging deeper insights into this new reality at work.

Mr. Ranjan Mohapatra said that PSEs may circulate and look at active adoption of the guidelines customised to their organisational needs s WfH is a perennial reality today.

As the pandemic has been catalyst in adopting WfH arrangement, the SCOPE ILO study offers detailed insights about advantages and challenges of WfH after administering surveys including key informant interviews (KIIs) and one-on-one interviews with Senior Management including CMDs, Heads of HR and other executives. A record number of 1969 women executives in PSEs were interviewed to reckon the ground reality of the situation. The report also proposes a set of recommendations streamlined into guidelines for gender sensitive work from home policy in PSEs.

18th August, 2020
Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), apex body of Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) and International Labour Organisation (ILO), a tripartite U.N. agency signed an understanding for a Joint Study on “Women Empowerment - Adoption of Work from Home Model”. Mr Atul Sobti, Director General, SCOPE and Ms. Dagmar Walter, Director, ILO Decent Work Team for South Asia and Country Office for India signed the understanding virtually.

The key objective of the study is to analyse and train women in Public Sector in order to empower them and motivate them to aspire to positions of leadership and management by addressing challenges faced by them at work. The study succeeds an earlier study of SCOPE & ILO whereby a team of Network of Champions was developed to train women in Public Sector on different aspects.

6th July, 2020
The quest for sustainable employment and creating a safe, equitable and dynamic workplace has accelerated amidst the ongoing pandemic. Offering insights into the same, Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) organized a webinar titled ‘ILO’s response to the pandemic - Learning and Sharing of Global Practices’ in association with International Labour Organisation (ILO). Ms. Dagmar Walter, Director, ILO DWT South Asia; Mr. Atul Sobti, DG, SCOPE; Dr. R. K. Elangovan, DG FASLI, Ministry of Labour & Employment; Mr. Ravi Peiris, Senior Specialist, ILO; Mr. Tsuyoshi Kawakami, Senior Specialist, ILO and Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Director, Personnel, WCL addressed the meet. Nearly 500 participants including senior official from PSEs attended the webinar through SCOPE’s various platforms.

Ms. Walter speaking about the global job scenario emphasised that the pandemic has affected both quality and quantity of jobs and measures taken to ensure worker protection, stimulate economic and labour demand; support employment and incomes and using social dialogue between government, workers and employers can only help overcome this crisis.

Mr. Sobti in his address said that the present scenario is one of the toughest faced by employers and so there is an inherent need for everyone to have an optimistic approach and ensure worker safety while adapting to the ‘New Normal’. He also mentioned that SCOPE and ILO are working closely in bringing forth the issues related to labour and work.

Mr. Peiris highlighted the importance of survival and resilience through social dialogue between employers and employees and signified the ability of adapting to change as the biggest asset for any organisation. He suggested employers to not only focus on the future but also the present, in order to succeed.

Dr. Elangovan spoke about the need for detailed preparedness amidst the ‘New Normal’ and shared views on Pandemic Response Procedure that ensure safety and wellbeing of all stakeholders.

Mr. Kawakami spoke about ILO’s guidelines with regard to securing health and safety at workplaces. Talking about causes of spread of the virus he gave practical tips like reducing human to human contact at workplaces and equipping workers with the appropriate equipment.

Dr. Kumar stated that the key take away from the webinar was to acquire learning’s from the past and present to establish a futuristic organization.

3rd March 2020
Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), an apex body of PSEs, organized a program on ‘Management of Contract Labour, Compliance of Labour Laws with special reference to Code of Wages 2019’. Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Labour & Employment inaugurated the program. Shri Heeralal Samaraiya, Secretary (L&E), Shri Atul Sobti, Director General, SCOPE, Shri Ravi Peiris, Senior Specialist, ILO and Shri Inderjit Singh, Former Chief Labour Commissioner also addressed the participants during the inaugural session..

In his inaugural address, Shri Gangwar spoke about the initiatives taken by the Government to simplify and transform labour laws in the country. He emphasized that not seeing labour as a commodity will result in reduction of labour disputes and enhance economic growth and better working conditions in the country.

Shri Samaraiya spoke about the need for safeguarding workers in the country. He added that simplified labour laws will enable right to minimum wages, timely payment and social security to majority of the working population of the country.

Shri Sobti said various reforms, policy initiatives taken by the government has led to India’s improved ease of doing business ranking to 63 from 114 for the year 2014. The ongoing labour reforms will further improve this ranking.

The program saw the presence of a large number of representatives from 32 PSEs.