Kolkata, Aug 28 (IANS) Raksha Bandhan was celebrated by Eastern Railway (ER) in a unique manner on Friday, through an interactive session for women employees and the announcement of a slew of welfare measures.
ER General Manager Gitika Pandey hosted the interactive session on women’s empowerment. In her address, she focused on professional growth, workplace well-being, and encouraged women employees to share their experiences, perspectives and suggestions through open dialogue.
She also presented a specialised track cycle to Triyasha Paul, an accomplished track cyclist who will represent India at the Asian Games in Japan later this year. She handed over arrows to medal-winning archers Soniya Thakur and Laxmi Hembrom in recognition of their outstanding achievements.
A series of impactful future initiatives and workshops were announced with a focus on holistic employee welfare. These include Art of Living sessions for mind-body wellness, targeted wealth and health management programmes for employees due to superannuation, specialised wealth management advice paired with practical nutrition tips for women employees, workshops on sexual harassment awareness, and sessions dedicated to mental health issues.
A specialised counselling room is also being set up for one-to-one mental health counselling for any employee requiring assistance. At the same time, physical workplace amenities are being upgraded through the augmentation of the Ladies’ Tiffin Room facilities at Fairlie Place and the identification of suitable space for a new Ladies’ Tiffin Room in the New Koilaghat Building.
While the railways have had women employees for decades, they are no longer confined to offices. Women are now working as frontline operational staff. Some work as loco pilots, driving mail, express, freight and suburban trains, while others work at yards and workshops, handling all kinds of assignments.
“Since she took over, the general manager has focused on the empowerment of all women employees. There needs to be proper amenities for them at all units; she has insisted. Men are also sensitised to understand the feelings of their female colleagues and behave accordingly, treating them with dignity. No kind of harassment, sexual or otherwise, was tolerated even before she took over. Things will get better with such initiatives,” a senior official said.
Even male employees expressed satisfaction with the initiatives that will help in the development of a better work culture.
“Raksha Bandhan represents our shared commitment to care, dignity and mutual support, values that drive Eastern Railway’s dedication to both our commuters and our extended railway family,” ER CPRO Shibram Majhi said.
--IANS
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