181 staffers yet to get 3 month salaries
This could be termed as an irony as the persons responsible for helping women in distress at the city administration’s 181 helpline are themselves in distress. Some 12 employees of the Delhi Government’s much-touted helpline have not received their salaries for the past three months. If that was not enough those manning the 24/7 helpline have also complained about medical complications as they are reportedly burdened with excessive workload in clear violation of the international norms.
launched by then Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the aftermath of horrendous December 16 gangrape case, helpline has been struggling every now and then to get the salaries of its staff released on time. There are 12 employees, who attend to round-the-clock calls in three shifts. Of the 12.32 lakh calls received by the helpline, it attended to about 8.50 lakh calls till December 14. The helpline also provided guidance to about 2,240 men facing human rights violations.
The helpline employees, who belong to an NGO, claimed that they had to put in extra work to help the women in distress in the city. “But we have not been paid our salaries since September,” a helpline employee told this newspaper. “The Government expects us to provide the best of our service without realising that we too need money to run our families. The insensitive administration should realise how one can celebrate Christmas and New Year without having a single penny in one’s pocket.”
Sources said that each helpline employee has to attend calls for 375 minute duration every day. “As per the international norms, one can attend up to 120 minute calls in the 480 minute shift. As we are short staffed, we have to attend calls in violation of the international norms,” another 181 employee said.As the helpline is overburdened with in-coming calls, many employees have started developing medical complications. “I have a headache every second day and as a result I am not able to sleep properly at night,” an employee associated with the helpline for the past two years said. Another employee said she had to take psychiatric help as she used to feel phone bells ringing in her ears all through the night.
Confirming that some 181 employees had been facing medical complications, civil rights activist and helpline head Khadijah Faruqui said, “The excessive workload has taken a toll on the health of many of my colleagues. It is high time for the administration to sanction more staff for our helpline.”