Administrator Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Monday directed his sub ordinates to paste code of conduct for the protection of women from harassment in the workplaces at all departments and buildings of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC).
The code of conduct has been issued under Section 11(2) of the Workplace Act 2010 aims to protect women in offices and other workplaces from any kind of harassment, said a statement. For this, guidelines have been issued regarding the behavior adopted by the management of the organization and all the employees in order to ensure an environment free from harassment and oppression.
According to the rules, violation of the code of conduct would be unacceptable and tantamount to excessive use of powers.
A complainant or a member of staff may report harassment to their supervisor or member of the inquiry committee. The supervisor or member of the inquiry committee shall have the responsibility to act in accordance with the prescribed code of conduct in this regard.
Requests made in this regard may be oral or written while a senior officer will conduct an undercover investigation. In case of serious nature of harassment, disciplinary action may be taken against the person concerned. During the course of the investigation, the complainant and the person against whom the complaint has been made may be temporarily transferred or in case of misconduct, the head of the department may apply the relevant procedure and suspend the person against whom the complaint has been made or send on him on leave.
During the investigation, it will be ensured that retaliatory action against each other is discouraged by both parties and will be fully monitored. The code of conduct provides all the details and clarifications of Section 11 (2) of Protection against Harassment of Women in the Workplace which will make the employees working in any department of KMC aware of their responsibilities and create a better environment in the organization.
