Indian Female Workers’ Right to Sit

For years, owners of retail shops and sari outlets have forbidden female workers to sit, in addition to enforcing punishment in the form of wage decreases if a worker leans against a wall.  Employers diligently monitor CCTV screens to check that workers take only a 30-minute lunch break and limited toilet breaks.  Women in these types of workplaces are prone to developing urinary tract infections and kidney problems because they cannot go to the toilet as needed, and they develop varicose veins and joint pains from excessive standing with no breaks.  Therefore, women’s unions have lobbied to amend the law that “fails to specify which amenities should be provided to sales assistants, to include the right to sit.”

Read more on The Guardian | Image: Supplied

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