Font Size 
Call Centre murder: Rape of an issue
Published on Tue, Dec 20, 2005 at 21:13, Updated on Wed, Jul 26, 2006 at 16:57 in India section
Tags: Call Centre Employee, Murder , Bangalore
Bangalore: The BPO sector is in the line of fire again after the rape and murder of a call centre employee in Bangalore. There have been noisy protests in the city and people are beginning to wonder whether it is safe for women to work in night shifts.
Trade union leaders in the city are using the incident to press for unionisation of the BPO industry.
General Secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, M K Pandhe says it's high time the BPO industry was regulated according to Indian norms.
"Women should be spared the graveyard shift. It's just not safe anymore. All companies should have this policy that men can be put on the 10 PM to 5 AM shifts while women can come in during the daytime," says Pandhe.
However, industry top shots say that more than 40 per cent of the three-and-a-half lakh employees working in the BPO industry are women and taking them off the night shift could be next to impossible.
They insist that most call centres have stringent identity checks of all drivers, use of technology to monitor movement of cabs and some even provide a guard to escort women home.
Nonetheless, call centres say that they are willing to take 'liability on road'.
National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), President Kiran Karnik says this incident should be seen as an unfortunate aberration.
"This is not fair. You can't stop women from working at night just because of one incident. If a lady gets molested in a bus, would you stop women from traveling in buses?" says Karnik.
Industry leaders regret the fact the BPO industry is often made a 'victim of disrepute'.
They point out an airhostess, a journalist and people working in the hospitality industry also have call center like hours and are as much at risk.
It's not an industry specific problem and singling out the BPO industry leaves the larger issue of law and order unanswered.
This is what people had to say when asked if it is responsibility of the Government or companies to ensure the security of their female staff. |
| "The primary responsibility is of the Government. The city does not matter, girls should feel safe in every city, be it Bangalore or Delhi." — Poornima, Noida |
| "Both the Government and the call centre are to be blamed. Its not just this one odd. There has been a series of such incidents." — Aashima, Noida |
| "Women should have emergency numbers ready while travelling by cabs. There should be contact between the drivers and the employers." — Sunaina, Noida |
| "The blame definately lies on the call centre. The employer holds the responsibility for the security of the employee." — Nipun kapoor, Noida |
| "Ultimately its the responsibility of the girl. She shouldn't have gone alone in the cab." — Kriti, Noida |
| Ads by Google |
| Related Ads: | |
Read Comment | Post Comment
Be the first to comment.