The National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday said it had issued advisories to the Ministries concerned for protecting the rights of informal workers, prisoners and police personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NHRC had set up a committee of experts to look into the impact of the pandemic on human rights in various sectors. On Monday, it sent the advisories for businesses to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, for prisoners and police personnel to the Ministry of Home Affairs and for informal workers to the Labour Ministry. They were also sent to the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories.
In a statement on Tuesday, the NHRC said it had requested the Ministries, States and UTs to implement the recommendations and submit action-taken reports.
On the rights of informal workers, the NHRC recommended the State governments to set up worker facilitation centres at the district and city-level for registering all of them, providing information regarding welfare schemes and job opportunities and skill-mapping. It also said every migrant worker returning to their home districts should be provided MGNREGA job cards. The advisory said an urban employment guarantee programme should be considered.
“The Central government shall advise all State governments against dilution of labour laws,” the advisory said, in an apparent reference to the move by many States to suspend or dilute them during the pandemic.
The advisory said the cases registered against migrant workers for violating lockdown guidelines “may be dropped” and those arrested “must be released immediately”. The advisory included measures to be taken for the protection of rights of tribal communities, sex workers, ASHA workers, workers with disabilities and sanitation workers.
On the advisory for prisoners and police, the NHRC said inmates should be provided with food to increase immunity, healthcare and testing. With regard to the police, the advisory said the pandemic had had a profound effect on first responders. Over 1.24 lakh police personnel had contracted the virus as on September 28, it said. The advisory said police personnel carrying out arrests should wear masks and gloves, and traffic police should avoid lengthy conversations with motorists. It also included advice on mental health issues that could crop in the police force, recommending a “well-being programme” with yoga, deep breathing, nutritional counselling.
In the advisory to businesses, the NHRC recommended that companies that are badly affected by the crisis should be allowed to adjust expenditure on salaries against their corporate social responsibility obligations for two years starting 2021-2022.