President Dr Arif Alvi has upheld the penalty of withholding the promotion for two years upon six PTV employees who were involved in creating a hostile and offensive work environment for a female cameraperson (the complainant).
He also held that the complainant’s termination from service was being rendered as void ab initio as disciplinary proceedings were initiated against her without following the due process, in a slipshod and clumsy manner, and rude and degrading actions were taken against her.
The president gave this decision while rejecting the representations filed by PTV, Abdul Rashid, Ziaur Rehman, Maqbool Shah, Muhammad Munawar, and Kanwal Masood, in which the Federal Ombudsman for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace (FOSPAH) had imposed the minor penalty of withholding of promotion for two years and fine of Rs100,000 upon Ziaur Rehman, Abdul Rashid, Maqbool Shah, Kanwal Masood, Saeed Ather, and Muhammad Munawar (the respondents) for issuing charge sheets, suspension orders, transfer orders and orders to ban the entry of the complainant into the premises of PTV in a slipshod manner.
He, however, set aside the penalty of the fine imposed by FOSPAH, on October 16, 2017, upon the employees involved in the matter.
The complainant had filed a complaint before FOSPAH alleging that she had been assaulted by two employees at PTV premises and the respondents had supported them.
The charges of sexual harassment could not be established against the accused, however, FOSPAH had decided to impose minor penalty upon the respondents for initiating acts which amounted to workplace harassment.
Earlier, the president on January 5, 2018, had reversed the decision of FOSPAH as the charges of sexual harassment were not proved in the case. Later, the Supreme Court of Pakistan accepted Civil Review Petitions filed by the complainant (female cameraman) and Attorney General for Pakistan, set aside the earlier judgments of the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court passed in the matter and remanded the representation to the President for decision afresh.
The top court in its judgment, dated June 6, 2023, had interpreted the word ‘harassment’ by elaborating that harassment had two components, first pertained to sexual favours and the second was about creating a hostile or offensive working environment.
Subsequently, the president held personal hearings of the case in June and July 2023 and decided the matter afresh in light of the apex court’s decision.
In his decision, he noted that workplace harassment was a global phenomenon, prevalent both in developed as well as developing countries, and it cut across religion, culture, race, caste, class and geographical boundaries.
He stated that Article 34 mandated the State to ensure the full participation of women in all affairs of national life and under Article 37(c), women had been given a special status in the matters of employment and conditions of work.
The president upheld the decision of FOSPAH and rejected the representation filed by the respondents.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 7th, 2023.
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