Imphal, November 21 2009: Co-convenor of All India Working Women Forum Dr BV Vijayalakshmi has called for justice and equality to the working women as provided in the Constitution of the country.

Addressing a press conference at Irabot Bhavan here today, she expressed concern that even after passage of 62 yeas of Indian independence and despite enactment of various legislations, almost 95 percent of working women who are also mainly in informal economy, do not enjoy equal pay for equal work and are deprived of minimum level of social security.

The working conditions are also hazardous and dangerous for them and child care services are none-existent for children below 3 years and if there are any in some places, they are abysmally poor, Dr Vijayalakshmi pointed out, while expressing serious concern over rise in the graph of work place harassment and abuse.

The system of casualisation and contractorisation has also affected women most and job security has become a serious issue for women in formal sector, she said, adding that women in export promotion zones are like slave labour as they are not allowed unionisation and even the personal liberties.

She also pointed out that women in various schemes for service providing such as ICDS, ASHA under NRHM, and those in the Mid-Day Meal, etc are not even considered workers.

Women working in the informal sector as well as in the Government sector, public sector units or private formal sector, are also denied maternity benefits and equal pay facilities.

So All India Working Women Forum has been campaigning for ensuring implementation of equal pay for equal and similar work, universal entitlement of maternity benefits so that all working women get coverage, universalisation of ICDS programme with regularisation of services of Anganwadi workers and helpers as Government employees, granting of minimum wages and social security benefits to the ASHA and the Mid-Day Meal scheme workers, initiation of Social Welfare schemes for domestic workers, enactment of legislations based on ILO convention on homebased work, more opportunities for skill development and jobs for women in all sector, easy loan and credit to women of poor, weaker and vulnerable sections for livelihood opportunities in small and tiny sectors for improving their earnings and early passage of law for prevention of sexual harassment at work place, Dr Vijayalakshmi explained.

She further informed a mass rally of the working women would be taken out from Ram Lila ground, Delhi to Parliament House on December 4 and a memorandum highlighting these demands would be submitted to the Prime Minister.

Over 15,000 working women from different parts of the country including 50 delegates from Manipur are expected to participate in the rally, she informed.

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