November 3 2007: Jyothikumari, a Wipro BPO employee in Pune was raped and murdered by her driver.
December 13 2005: Pratibha Srikantamurthy, a HP Globalsoft employee in Bangalore, was raped and murdered by a person who posed as the cab driver
August 6 2005: A cab driver threw acid on the face of a 22-year old girl working in a Pune BPO when she resisted the advances made by him.
With headlines like these bursting out of our morning newspapers, is it any surprise that parental hearts skip a beat when their daughters board the cab to work on a US or UK shift at the BPO company?
Safe transportation has been the focus of attention every time one discusses a call center or any other ITES job for a member of the family. In fact, call center vehicles have been in the news for all the wrong reasons for quite some time now. From sexual harassment to employees, to rash driving, over-speeding and fatal accidents, these pick-up and drop vehicles have wrought havoc with our nerves in more ways than one dares to think of.
Following the murder of Pratibha, all companies tightened their security policies. Company rules specify that women must only travel in the presence of another male employee. A separate transport department, internal hotlines and SMS services were introduced to monitor commuting employees. Still, there has been no visible drop in the number of BPO cab drivers involved in crimes, ranging from theft and extortion, to rash driving and harassment.
So, is a blanket ban on night work for women the answer to the issues relating to their safety? The growing presence of women in sectors where night shifts are essential doesn't justify a ban. According to a NASSCOM survey, women constitute 38 per cent of the IT/BPO industry, the largest ratio in any country.
Karnataka has an archaic law that prohibits employment of women in offices that work through the nights – between 2000 hours and 0600 hours to be precise. The state government had to amend this Act under pressure from the industry. It had to exempt various sectors like IT and biotechnology, the media, essential services such as hospitals, railways and airports. So the Act does not cover all women working at night, but only some, including those working in the hospitality and entertainment sectors and in retail.
In fact, moves to ban night shifts for women has met with resistance from women's organizations who apprehend that such a measure will not only reduce job opportunities but also block their chances of career advancement. So, ways other than a ban have to be found to tackle the question of working women's safety.
If the Government feels that the security of women is at stake, then they should insist that provisions are made by companies to ensure safety, such as pick ups and drop backs with adequate security.
The fast growing BPO industry has generated parallel employment for cab drivers. The BPOs in Pune have collective staff strength of about 50,000-plus and a fleet of over 6,000 cars. The number is many times more in Bangalore, the world's largest BPO hub employing about 2.5lakh people, half of who are women. A large number of BPOs have clearly failed to pay enough attention to the quality or background of these drivers.
Checking the antecedents of drivers should be made mandatory for companies operating through fleet operators. "Background check and ref-check of the BPO drivers is the weakest link in the entire BPO operation. All our unsafe transportation issues are arising from here," said a BPO executive.
Some amount of security consciousness is also necessary on the part of young employees in BPOs. Many young BPO employees are guilty of not behaving professionally with drivers. They are found to be not being punctual and forcing drivers to speed, becoming over-friendly with them, requesting drivers to drop them at unscheduled spots and getting into quarrels with them. Some BPOs face résistance from their male employees who do not feel chivalrous enough to allow the lady to be dropped off first.
The other option is for government to operate transport services to ferry the employees during late night hours. It is for want of public transport that employees are forced to rely on private cab operators. Such a problem doesn't exist in a city like Mumbai which is well-connected by suburban train services and buses.
Whenever there are cases such as rape and murder of an employee, acid attack or assault by drivers, they create headlines temporarily. However, things are forgotten until the next incident grabs the headlines. The recent Supreme Court order giving the go-ahead to prosecute NASSCOM Chief Som Mittal, the former managing director of HP Global Soft in the Pratibha case has come as a timely reminder to employers that they can no longer take the safety and security of women employees for granted.
From India, Delhi
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December 13 2005: Pratibha Srikantamurthy, a HP Globalsoft employee in Bangalore, was raped and murdered by a person who posed as the cab driver
August 6 2005: A cab driver threw acid on the face of a 22-year old girl working in a Pune BPO when she resisted the advances made by him.
With headlines like these bursting out of our morning newspapers, is it any surprise that parental hearts skip a beat when their daughters board the cab to work on a US or UK shift at the BPO company?
Safe transportation has been the focus of attention every time one discusses a call center or any other ITES job for a member of the family. In fact, call center vehicles have been in the news for all the wrong reasons for quite some time now. From sexual harassment to employees, to rash driving, over-speeding and fatal accidents, these pick-up and drop vehicles have wrought havoc with our nerves in more ways than one dares to think of.
Following the murder of Pratibha, all companies tightened their security policies. Company rules specify that women must only travel in the presence of another male employee. A separate transport department, internal hotlines and SMS services were introduced to monitor commuting employees. Still, there has been no visible drop in the number of BPO cab drivers involved in crimes, ranging from theft and extortion, to rash driving and harassment.
So, is a blanket ban on night work for women the answer to the issues relating to their safety? The growing presence of women in sectors where night shifts are essential doesn't justify a ban. According to a NASSCOM survey, women constitute 38 per cent of the IT/BPO industry, the largest ratio in any country.
Karnataka has an archaic law that prohibits employment of women in offices that work through the nights – between 2000 hours and 0600 hours to be precise. The state government had to amend this Act under pressure from the industry. It had to exempt various sectors like IT and biotechnology, the media, essential services such as hospitals, railways and airports. So the Act does not cover all women working at night, but only some, including those working in the hospitality and entertainment sectors and in retail.
In fact, moves to ban night shifts for women has met with resistance from women's organizations who apprehend that such a measure will not only reduce job opportunities but also block their chances of career advancement. So, ways other than a ban have to be found to tackle the question of working women's safety.
If the Government feels that the security of women is at stake, then they should insist that provisions are made by companies to ensure safety, such as pick ups and drop backs with adequate security.
The fast growing BPO industry has generated parallel employment for cab drivers. The BPOs in Pune have collective staff strength of about 50,000-plus and a fleet of over 6,000 cars. The number is many times more in Bangalore, the world's largest BPO hub employing about 2.5lakh people, half of who are women. A large number of BPOs have clearly failed to pay enough attention to the quality or background of these drivers.
Checking the antecedents of drivers should be made mandatory for companies operating through fleet operators. "Background check and ref-check of the BPO drivers is the weakest link in the entire BPO operation. All our unsafe transportation issues are arising from here," said a BPO executive.
Some amount of security consciousness is also necessary on the part of young employees in BPOs. Many young BPO employees are guilty of not behaving professionally with drivers. They are found to be not being punctual and forcing drivers to speed, becoming over-friendly with them, requesting drivers to drop them at unscheduled spots and getting into quarrels with them. Some BPOs face résistance from their male employees who do not feel chivalrous enough to allow the lady to be dropped off first.
The other option is for government to operate transport services to ferry the employees during late night hours. It is for want of public transport that employees are forced to rely on private cab operators. Such a problem doesn't exist in a city like Mumbai which is well-connected by suburban train services and buses.
Whenever there are cases such as rape and murder of an employee, acid attack or assault by drivers, they create headlines temporarily. However, things are forgotten until the next incident grabs the headlines. The recent Supreme Court order giving the go-ahead to prosecute NASSCOM Chief Som Mittal, the former managing director of HP Global Soft in the Pratibha case has come as a timely reminder to employers that they can no longer take the safety and security of women employees for granted.
From India, Delhi
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Can Anyone educate me on the mandatory benfits which are to be given for the late night working and 24*& shifts in an IT and Ites company?
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Hi Ambalika,
Thank you for the nice writing on women's safety. As a measure and a step to curb these kinds of issues further, I opine that every woman must be bold enough to fight against it. Yes, it may seem a bit impractical because not every woman can be strong enough, but every BPO company that has female employees working in US/UK shifts must provide some training in self-defense apart from business hours.
There are some quick tricks in Karate and other martial arts for self-defense. These tricks can help women escape from the sight of perpetrators such as rapists and robbers. It's not about fighting but escaping so that they can be safe.
I think these organizations must incorporate these types of initiatives.
Thank you.
From India, Hyderabad
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70Thank you for the nice writing on women's safety. As a measure and a step to curb these kinds of issues further, I opine that every woman must be bold enough to fight against it. Yes, it may seem a bit impractical because not every woman can be strong enough, but every BPO company that has female employees working in US/UK shifts must provide some training in self-defense apart from business hours.
There are some quick tricks in Karate and other martial arts for self-defense. These tricks can help women escape from the sight of perpetrators such as rapists and robbers. It's not about fighting but escaping so that they can be safe.
I think these organizations must incorporate these types of initiatives.
Thank you.
From India, Hyderabad
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Corporate Israeli Self Defence Workshop for Women and Girls
There is an alarming increase in knife/gun crimes, sexual assaults, and murders in Karnataka along with other threats out in the streets. Often, our staff members have to travel at odd hours in an office car or cab. It’s hardly surprising that we hear of horrific attacks on valued members of our workforce. At the time of need, there is only one thing you can trust: your instincts and reflexes! Krav Maga, an Israeli Self Defence System, enhances these abilities, enabling every one of us to take responsibility to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
Benefits of Israeli Krav Maga include:
- Repairing or building morale, self-confidence, and self-esteem.
- Improving one's performance and attaining greater productivity under any stress.
- Reducing the risks of diseases associated with sedentary lifestyles.
- Positively alleviating stress in the workplace and developing team spirit.
- Building a strong passion and tact to set higher goals.
- Creating better work ethics and a friendly environment at work.
- Allowing a company to showcase its care for the protection and well-being of its staff.
Why Israeli Krav Maga: Self Defence?
- Learning to avoid becoming frozen in a hostile situation on a street or in a cab or car, etc.
- How to utilize reflex responses to escape a possible life-threatening situation.
- How to react to get away as quickly and safely as possible with the minimum harm to self or others.
- Team building and bonding.
- Increasing stamina and physical fitness levels.
- Enhancing the ability to perform under stress leading to greater production.
- Increasing self-confidence and self-efficiency.
- Companies or managers gain a better understanding of their staff's capabilities.
- Staff motivation improves through enjoyment and fun during training.
- Reducing the risk of diseases associated with sedentary lifestyles of employees.
- Reducing absenteeism and increasing staff turnover.
- Developing the overall personality through mental, technical, tactical, and physical training.
- Improving employer-employee relationships as staff members stick to companies that actually care for them.
Q: Do you train men and women?
A: Yes, we teach both women and men together. However, when requested, we can teach these groups separately, and this is done for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the patterns of attack tend to be different for males and females. Generally, when a male is attacked, the attack is usually from the front and invariably does not have a sexual motive compared to an attack on a female by a man, which is often from behind and often has a sexual motive. Thus, the types of defense techniques taught vary to deal with the different attack patterns. Secondly, women tend to feel more comfortable in a group with just women when subjects such as rape and sexual abuse are discussed.
Q: Is this a martial arts course?
A: No, Israeli Self-Defence Krav Maga has designed their courses specifically with the everyday person in mind. We base our course content on real-life safety awareness concerns and real-life attack patterns that we have studied over many years. Martial Arts is a sport and a way of life and thus is not always practical when it comes to realistic, effective, and easy-to-remember "street" self-defense techniques.
Q: Can it happen in my company, my time?
A: We will come in and teach at your company. The workshops are usually run during office hours starting first thing in the morning and finishing by lunchtime or starting at lunchtime and ending at around 5:00 o'clock. In some instances, we have started workshops in the afternoon and ended them in the early evening. Thus, we are flexible to accommodate the most suitable time for your company.
Q: How much space is needed to train?
A: A space no bigger than an average-sized meeting room. Some of our clients clear a small area in the office canteen.
Q: Does the company need any equipment?
A: We will bring all the necessary training equipment.
Q: Is there a minimum and maximum number for a course?
A: There is no minimum number, but we have a maximum of 30 per session.
Q: How much do the workshops cost?
A: The cost is Rs 8000 per group of 30 people for a 3.5-hour course. However, we have price brackets as follows:
- 1-10 employees Rs 6000
- 11-20 employees Rs 7000
- 21-30 employees Rs 8000
We also provide long-term training for the entire staff. Instead of charging per group, we will come under a contract basis with your organization and charge a monthly fee instead.
Q: How many workshop levels are there?
A: There are three levels.
All levels focus on general safety awareness and the reinforcement of good personal safety habits. The participants are encouraged to share their views, experiences, and concerns. Thus, the workshops are very scenario-based rather than in lecture format.
Level One is focused on the introduction and application of practical self-defense techniques and tools which most participants will have had no previous knowledge of prior to taking the Level One course. Each tool is introduced with participants learning their application by working together with partners. After a set of tools is taught, the tools are then put together and applied in "real-life" attack situations, as each participant must access the tools they have learned in order to get out of a given situation. Plus, we give a preview of what all can be taught in Level two.
Level Two reinforces the foundation tools and techniques learned in Level One. We introduce awareness and physical skills on knife defense, bear hugs, chokes, etc. Level Two also focuses on building further confidence in the participants in the use of all the techniques and their ability to deal with verbal and physical aggression.
Level Three will refresh and reinforce all the tools and techniques learned so far in Levels One and Two as well as build further on the increased confidence gained in the previous levels. However, the difference with Level Three is that participants are taken out into open environments as well as common places of attack such as lifts, alleyways, parks, etc., where technique and application are put to a more realistic test.
Q: Do you have to be fit to do the course?
A: You do not have to be fit or sporty. Self-defense training is a life skill and not a fitness or martial arts class.
Q: Do you have any testimonials or press articles?
A: Yes, we have been covered by many TV channels and press print media. And we have done many corporate workshops with other leading organizations. Please email us at "frank(@)kravmagabangalore.com" to ask us about documents showcasing press and past workshops or call me at 9886769281.
From India, Dharwad
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There is an alarming increase in knife/gun crimes, sexual assaults, and murders in Karnataka along with other threats out in the streets. Often, our staff members have to travel at odd hours in an office car or cab. It’s hardly surprising that we hear of horrific attacks on valued members of our workforce. At the time of need, there is only one thing you can trust: your instincts and reflexes! Krav Maga, an Israeli Self Defence System, enhances these abilities, enabling every one of us to take responsibility to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
Benefits of Israeli Krav Maga include:
- Repairing or building morale, self-confidence, and self-esteem.
- Improving one's performance and attaining greater productivity under any stress.
- Reducing the risks of diseases associated with sedentary lifestyles.
- Positively alleviating stress in the workplace and developing team spirit.
- Building a strong passion and tact to set higher goals.
- Creating better work ethics and a friendly environment at work.
- Allowing a company to showcase its care for the protection and well-being of its staff.
Why Israeli Krav Maga: Self Defence?
- Learning to avoid becoming frozen in a hostile situation on a street or in a cab or car, etc.
- How to utilize reflex responses to escape a possible life-threatening situation.
- How to react to get away as quickly and safely as possible with the minimum harm to self or others.
- Team building and bonding.
- Increasing stamina and physical fitness levels.
- Enhancing the ability to perform under stress leading to greater production.
- Increasing self-confidence and self-efficiency.
- Companies or managers gain a better understanding of their staff's capabilities.
- Staff motivation improves through enjoyment and fun during training.
- Reducing the risk of diseases associated with sedentary lifestyles of employees.
- Reducing absenteeism and increasing staff turnover.
- Developing the overall personality through mental, technical, tactical, and physical training.
- Improving employer-employee relationships as staff members stick to companies that actually care for them.
Q: Do you train men and women?
A: Yes, we teach both women and men together. However, when requested, we can teach these groups separately, and this is done for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the patterns of attack tend to be different for males and females. Generally, when a male is attacked, the attack is usually from the front and invariably does not have a sexual motive compared to an attack on a female by a man, which is often from behind and often has a sexual motive. Thus, the types of defense techniques taught vary to deal with the different attack patterns. Secondly, women tend to feel more comfortable in a group with just women when subjects such as rape and sexual abuse are discussed.
Q: Is this a martial arts course?
A: No, Israeli Self-Defence Krav Maga has designed their courses specifically with the everyday person in mind. We base our course content on real-life safety awareness concerns and real-life attack patterns that we have studied over many years. Martial Arts is a sport and a way of life and thus is not always practical when it comes to realistic, effective, and easy-to-remember "street" self-defense techniques.
Q: Can it happen in my company, my time?
A: We will come in and teach at your company. The workshops are usually run during office hours starting first thing in the morning and finishing by lunchtime or starting at lunchtime and ending at around 5:00 o'clock. In some instances, we have started workshops in the afternoon and ended them in the early evening. Thus, we are flexible to accommodate the most suitable time for your company.
Q: How much space is needed to train?
A: A space no bigger than an average-sized meeting room. Some of our clients clear a small area in the office canteen.
Q: Does the company need any equipment?
A: We will bring all the necessary training equipment.
Q: Is there a minimum and maximum number for a course?
A: There is no minimum number, but we have a maximum of 30 per session.
Q: How much do the workshops cost?
A: The cost is Rs 8000 per group of 30 people for a 3.5-hour course. However, we have price brackets as follows:
- 1-10 employees Rs 6000
- 11-20 employees Rs 7000
- 21-30 employees Rs 8000
We also provide long-term training for the entire staff. Instead of charging per group, we will come under a contract basis with your organization and charge a monthly fee instead.
Q: How many workshop levels are there?
A: There are three levels.
All levels focus on general safety awareness and the reinforcement of good personal safety habits. The participants are encouraged to share their views, experiences, and concerns. Thus, the workshops are very scenario-based rather than in lecture format.
Level One is focused on the introduction and application of practical self-defense techniques and tools which most participants will have had no previous knowledge of prior to taking the Level One course. Each tool is introduced with participants learning their application by working together with partners. After a set of tools is taught, the tools are then put together and applied in "real-life" attack situations, as each participant must access the tools they have learned in order to get out of a given situation. Plus, we give a preview of what all can be taught in Level two.
Level Two reinforces the foundation tools and techniques learned in Level One. We introduce awareness and physical skills on knife defense, bear hugs, chokes, etc. Level Two also focuses on building further confidence in the participants in the use of all the techniques and their ability to deal with verbal and physical aggression.
Level Three will refresh and reinforce all the tools and techniques learned so far in Levels One and Two as well as build further on the increased confidence gained in the previous levels. However, the difference with Level Three is that participants are taken out into open environments as well as common places of attack such as lifts, alleyways, parks, etc., where technique and application are put to a more realistic test.
Q: Do you have to be fit to do the course?
A: You do not have to be fit or sporty. Self-defense training is a life skill and not a fitness or martial arts class.
Q: Do you have any testimonials or press articles?
A: Yes, we have been covered by many TV channels and press print media. And we have done many corporate workshops with other leading organizations. Please email us at "frank(@)kravmagabangalore.com" to ask us about documents showcasing press and past workshops or call me at 9886769281.
From India, Dharwad
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