Transgender people object to tweaks in wage code

A collective of transgender rights activists has written to Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad objecting to the ministry's removal of provisions granting protection to transgender people under the Code of Wages Bill, 2017, introduced in the lower house last month.

The letter, a copy of which has been sent to Social Justice Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot, states that the removal of non-discriminatory and protectionary clauses contravenes the 2014 NALSA judgment and "violated and invisibilised" the rights of transgender people.

Demanding that the clauses be reinstated, the activists have said that the bill did not recognise the gender of transgender people as it proceeded on the basis that "transgender persons are already covered within the definition of 'person' under the General Clauses Act, 1897."

"While the definition is inclusive and broad enough to cover all human beings, its supposed coverage of transgender persons is not reflected in our experience. If that were the case, then no transgender person would have had to struggle daily for sustenance," stated the letter.

The activists said the law ministry has removed specific protections for transgender people which were approved by the labour ministry, such as 'equal pay for equal work' and non-discrimination at workplaces.