It is often witnessed that when women, facing sexual harassment at the workplace, they are reluctant to report such misconduct. The Sexual Harassment of Women at workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 (POSH) aims to give protection against such incident. Internal Committee (IC) (the committee for prevention of sexual harassment) has to be created for organizations with more than ten employees under POSH. It is very important to have an IC which is trained and aware of its role & responsibilities. This is important not only to ensure effective redressal of complaints but also promote inclusion and healthy work environment.

The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized Capacity Building Workshop on the Law against Sexual Harassment at Workplace for Internal Committee (IC) Members of its stakeholders in association with Posh at Work (empanelled by Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India since February, 2017), on 7th November 2023 at the Chamber premises.

This workshop was designed for current & potential IC Members with a vision to:

• Train IC members on their role & responsibilities

• Assist them in learning the practicalities of handling a complaint

• Guide them with best practices and tips along with some do’s & don’ts

• To incorporate skills for desired tone and tenor during an inquiry

Advocate  Shivangi  Prasad, Legal Consultant & Author, Trainer & External Member, Founder, The Legal Swan,  POSH at Work & Respekt, Cisgender Heterosexual Ally was invited from Mumbai as the Trainer.

The workshop was attended by 38 participants from BEAS Consultancy k& Services Private Limited; Bengal Gas Company Limited; CESC Limited; Exide Industries Limited; Capital Numbers lnfotech Private Limited; Jupier Wagons Limited; National Insurance Company Limited; Nicco Parks & Resorts Limited; Peoplepro Management Services Private Limited; Pharma Quant Insights Private Limited; Shyam Metalics and Energy Ltd.; SOFTTHINK Intelligent Solutions Pvt Ltd.; Southern Health Improvement Samity; Sundew Solutions Private Limited; Tata Metaliks Limited; TM International Logistics Ltd; Trisim Global Solutions LLP; Vesuvius India Limited; Wacker Metroark Chemicals Pvt Ltd; West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation ; Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital Ltd. 

It was a very interactive workshop wherein the participants were given simulated situations to come up with possible situations. Appropriate documentations were also explained .

Joint Certificates by The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Posh at Work (empanelled by Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India since February, 2017) were provided to all participants on successful completion of the workshop.