DCW issues notice to Labour Department on Placement Agency Bill

DCW on Monday issued a notice to the Labour Department and requested the Delhi Private Placement Agency (Regulation) Bill, which is aimed at regulating placement agencies supplying domestic workers.

New Delhi:The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Monday issued a notice to the Labour Department seeking the status of Delhi Private Placement Agencies (Regulation) Bill which is aimed at regulating placement agencies that supply domestic workers. It has directed the Labour Department to submit the information by July 1.

In a letter directed to the Commissioner of Labour Department, DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal said that the national capital has become a hub of human trafficking.

"Unregulated private placement agencies functioning in Delhi play a major role in the trafficking of young women, especially minors," the letter stated.

Malliwal further said that her Commission has been actively advocating for a definite and stringent law to curb these illegal activities and have a definite regulatory framework for the regulation of placement agencies.

"In September 2018, the government of NCT of Delhi had informed the Delhi High Court that the bill was under consideration and would be introduced in the Delhi Assembly shortly. It has, however, not been introduced in the Assembly and there appears to have been no significant progress in the matter," the letter stated.

The chairperson also added that a delay in passing the Bill is leading to countless girls falling in the trap of the placement agencies.

Expressing concern over the matter, she sought a detailed timeline by which the Bill will be introduced in the Delhi Assembly along with the details of steps taken by the government to regulate such agencies in the capital.