Mathrubhumi is committed to conducting and governing ourselves with ethics, transparency and accountability and to this, we have developed practices and procedures that ensures ethical conduct at all levels in our organisation. It is thus in acknowledgement of and in consonance with these values, that we are dedicated to ensuring that the work environment at all our locations is conducive to fair, safe and harmonious relations, based on mutual trust and respect, between all the employees of the Company.

Mathrubhumi is committed to providing a work environment free of sexual harassment. Mathrubhumi recognises that workplace harassment of a sexual nature affects the dignity of women and men at work.

The Company will not tolerate any form of sexual harassment and is committed to take necessary steps to ensure that its employees are not subjected to any form of harassment.

Sexual harassment may be one or a series of incidents involving unsolicited and unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, or any other verbal or physical conduct of sexual nature.

Sexual Harassment at the workplace includes:

1. Unwelcome sexual advances (verbal, written or physical),
2. Demand or request for sexual favours,
3. Any other type of sexually-oriented conduct,
4. Verbal abuse that is sex-oriented; or
5. any conduct that has the purpose or the effect of interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment and/or submission to such conduct is either an explicit or implicit term or condition of employment and/or submission or rejection of the conduct is used as a basis for making employment decisions.

Internal Complaints Committee

Mathrubhumi is perhaps the first media house in India to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee as early as in the year 2006 to consider and redress complaints of sexual harassment from all the workplaces of the Company. This committee has since been re-constituted from time to time. We give wide publicity to our employees and any person can approach the members of Committee, which includes an external member as mandated by law. The Internal Complaints Committee ensures that in the interest of justice and fair play, any person can approach them without fear or favour. Our company is committed to render all possible assistance for the victim-employee to, in addition to the above, seek legal remedies as may be provided under the various penal laws and civil remedies in force from time to time.

Confidentiality

The Company understands that it is difficult for the victim to come forward with a complaint of sexual harassment and recognizes the victim’s interest in keeping the matter confidential. To protect the interests of the victim and others who may report incidents of sexual harassment, confidentiality will be maintained throughout the investigatory process to the extent practicable and appropriate under the circumstances.

#MeToo

Mathrubhumi believes that the #MeToo movement is impacting the law by drawing focus to the law for those who are unaware. A vast majority of the discussion concerning the social media campaign time and again draws attention to the existing law. Although evolving from long standing Supreme Court guidelines in Vishakha’s case, the Indian legislation is in any event quite recent and comprehensive media reports on the #MeToo movement enables propagation of the rights, duties and liabilities attached to prevention, prohibition and redressal of sexual harassment.