Govt authorises workplace inspection to check POSH Act compliance

Pune: The state govt has authorised a wide network of officials to inspect establishments for the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, compliance to strengthen workplace safety for women.

The women and child development department empowered district officials, women and child welfare officers, protection officers, probation officers, child development project officers, district coordination officers and anganwadi supervisors to conduct inspections in government, semi-government and private establishments through a government circular issued on May 14. “The GR (government resolution) clearly states that there should be a team allocated for the drives and officials have been directed to carry out checks,” said a senior official of the women and child development department.

The commissioner of women and child development, Pune, has been appointed the state nodal officer for the implementation, monitoring and coordination of POSH compliance across Maharashtra.

The move comes amid growing concerns over poor implementation of the POSH Act. It mandates every workplace with 10 or more employees to constitute an Internal Committee (IC) to address complaints of sexual harassment. The state govt has directed establishments to integrate the Centre’s SHe-Box portal into their systems and upload details of ICs with annual compliance reports online.

According to the circular, inspection teams will assess if organisations have adopted formal POSH policies, constituted IC, appointed mandatory external NGO members, conducted employee awareness and sensitisation programmes, and established proper complaint redressal mechanisms. It warns that establishments violating provisions of the POSH Act could face penal action under Section 26 of the law.

Officials said the inspection teams would examine if organisations were maintaining confidentiality during inquiries, completing investigations within the mandated 90-day timeline and providing interim relief to complainants wherever required.

The inspection checklist attached to the circular contains more than 30 compliance parameters, including public display of POSH policies at workplaces, at least 50% women members in ICs and effective functioning of the complaint redressal system. The circular iterates provisions under Section 16 of the POSH Act, mandating strict confidentiality regarding the identities of complainants, respondents and witnesses during inquiry proceedings.

The state has widened the enforcement framework by formally bringing district-level women and child development officials, child development project officers, district coordination officers and protection officers under the inspection mechanism. Officials said the intensified inspection and monitoring drive was aimed at ensuring safer and more gender-sensitive workplaces across the state while strengthening accountability among employers and institutions.