THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Cooperative Department has given a directive to the joint registrars and joint directors in all districts to check whether all cooperative societies, banks and other institutions have constituted internal complaints committees to report sexual harassment at the workplace.
Express had recently reported that a majority of around 15,000 cooperative bodies in the state do not have internal complaints committees in place.
A senior officer with the State Cooperative Department told Express, “We have taken steps to ensure that all cooperative societies, banks and other institutions in the cooperative sector comply with the Government of India directive of constituting internal complaints committee to complain against sexual harassment at the workplace.”
He also said the department had not erred and that it had sent directives earlier itself to all cooperative institutions to form these committees.
Leaders of unions affiliated to both the Congress and CPM said they were not aware of internal complaints committees formed in cooperative institutions while the department insisted that a directive to this effect had been given to all institutions.