Jan 18, 1999
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ORISSA The Rot Within Junior NGO workers are harassed by their seniors as toothless laws fail to protect them. By Ruben Banerjee
Though several of the nearly 10,000 NGOs in the state have been charged with financial irregularities, the recent scandals connected with the organisations are more vicious in nature. In November last year, Jagannath Goud, a project officer of the NGO REACH, was killed and his body thrown on the rail track in Koraput. A few days later, the body of Kailash Pradhan, a project coordinator of the Friends Association for Rural Reconstruction (FARR), was fished out of a well in Kalahandi. Though the police registered a case of suicide, Pradhan's brother has lodged a complaint with the local police, alleging foul play. What has raised doubts about the police version is the rope tied around Pradhan's neck and the handkerchief stuffed in his mouth. These incidents apart, life is a virtual hell for junior-level NGO workers. They face summary dismissals, harassment at work and even rape. The facts are only now coming out into the open. A string of complaints are pending with the State Women's Commission (SWC) and the National Human Rights Commission. Says swc's Lopamudra Mohanty: "Not all allegations are true. But many of them are." Rashmi, for example, got a rude shock when after slogging for several years for an NGO in Khariar, she was dismissed without notice because she reported sick with TB. Minati Prabha Jena, who was hired on a three-month contract by the Council for Professional Social Workers (CPSW) was dismissed as she couldn't get along with her boss. She was even fined Rs 1,000 for absenting herself from a meeting. There are several cases like hers. "There are obviously quite a few wolves in sheep's clothing," says Ajit Tirpathy, state labour secretary. NGO workers agree with him. "In the name of checking exploitation, many of the NGOs end up exploiting their own workers," regrets Manashi Majumdar of Bhubaneswar-based Task Force On Women Against Violence. As allegations of exploitation pile up, workers have been prompted to float the Orissa State NGO Workers Forum to protect themselves. Says Swapna Das, convenor of the forum: "We are being abused by the NGO bosses. They talk of changing the society, but it is they who need to change first." The office-bearers concerned seem unruffled by these developments. "Being a social organisation, we are exempt from labour laws," says Ullas Pradhan, cpsw administration manager. His confidence stems from the fact that though NGOs in Orissa employ nearly 20,000 people, laws governing the sector are vague. Registered under the Society of Registration Act -- just as neighbourhood clubs are -- the NGOs do not fall under industry laws. This makes it easy for them to evade the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act that governs employer-employee relations. "The NGOs are exploiting their status," says Sarthak Pal of Oxfam, a foreign funding agency that pumps in Rs 2 crore annually into the state. With the halo of social work over their activities, the NGOs have evaded scrutiny. But in the wake of developments in Orissa, maybe they should reform themselves before trying to change the world. |
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They mostly work in the sleepy outback
of Orissa. But in sharp contrast to the tranquillity of their surroundings, the
non-government organisations (NGOs) in the state are in a turmoil. The gruesome murder of
an NGO worker in distant Koraput, the suspicious suicide of yet another in neighbouring
Kalahandi and a slew of allegations of sexual abuse and unfair labour practices have cast
a shadow over these social organisations. 
