The Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has asked Air India to conclude its internal inquiry into an allegation of sexual harassment against a senior executive by the end of the month.
Last week, a flight attendant at Air India wrote to the Minister for Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu highlighting that the national carrier did not conduct a fair inquiry into her complaint about alleged sexual harassment at the hands of a senior colleague.
She wrote that though she had complained in September last year the internal complaints committee “dragged their feet” over the issue and did not inform her about the status of the inquiry.
“Minister for Women and Child Development (WCD) Maneka Gandhi has taken up the matter with Minister for Civil Aviation. The Minister has also spoken to the head of the Internal Complaints Committee of Air India and has directed her to complete the inquiry within June, 2018,” according to a statement from WCD.
Every employer is obliged to constitute an ICC through a written order, according to the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act, 2013. The committee must complete its probe within 90 days of a complaint being filed and action must be taken within 60 days of the inquiry concluding. All parties involved must be informed about the findings and given a chance to make representation before the committee finalises its report.
