INTERNAL COMMITTEE (CI) STRUCTURE

COMPOSITION REQUIREMENTS (CHAIR, EXTERNAL MEMBERS, GENDER)

The law states that any organization with 10 or more employees must mandatorily constitute an Internal Committee (IC or IC) in each branch or administrative office.

This body is not an informal group, but a structured entity with rigid requirements.

The central figure is the Presiding Officer, who must be a female employee at a higher level in the company's hierarchy.

This is to ensure that the person in charge has the necessary authority and maturity to handle sensitive cases.

Alongside her, at least two employee members (male or female) with a commitment to the social cause or legal knowledge should be appointed, and crucially, one external member from an NGO or association committed to the cause of women.

The golden rule is that at least half of the committee members must be women.

Let us imagine that Queen Elizabeth I of England is appointed Presiding Officer because of her high rank.

To complete the legal quorum, she would have to recruit two in-house counsel and perhaps Florence Nightingale as an external welfare expert member, thus ensuring the required gender balance and technical competence.

SELECTION CRITERIA TO ENSURE NEUTRALITY AND COMPETENCE

The selection of members should not be taken lightly. It is recommended that the committee have an odd number of members (5 or 7) to avoid ties in decision-making.

The term of office of members should not exceed three years, after which time the committee should be renewed to avoid entrenchment of power.

It is vital to select accessible and empathetic individuals, not feared figures, to encourage whistleblowing.

If Abraham Lincoln were selected as a member of the committee, his suitability would come not only from his position, but from his reputation for integrity.

However, if he had a direct conflict of interest or disciplinary record, he should be disqualified.

The external member acts as a neutrality auditor, preventing the company from "washing dirty laundry at home" without scrutiny.

If the company does not have senior women (a possible scenario in masculinized industries), the law permits seeking a female chairperson from another organization, although ideally female leadership should be developed internally.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INTERNAL AND LOCAL/EXTERNAL COMMITTEES

The Internal Committee (IC) serves the organized workforce. However, there is a loophole for companies with fewer than 10 employees or for the unorganized sector (domestic workers, for example).

For these cases, and mainly when the complaint is against the employer itself, the Local Committee (LC), constituted by the government district officer, comes into play.

The LC has no jurisdiction to investigate the owner or CEO of the company, as there would be an insurmountable conflict of interest.

Suppose Henry Ford, the factory owner, is accused of harassment by a female worker.

The internal factory committee, whose members are Ford's subordinates and are paid by him, would not be able to guarantee a fair trial.

In this scenario, the law requires that the complaint be brought to the district's Local Committee, an external, governmental body.

This mechanism ensures that even top authority figures, such as Ford, can be investigated without coercion on judges.

Summary

The law obliges every organization with ten or more employees to set up an official Internal Committee. This body must be chaired by a high-ranking woman to ensure authority.

It is legally required that at least half of the members must be women and include a neutral outsider. The term of office is limited to three years to ensure impartiality and avoid entrenchment.

When the complaint involves the owner or very small companies, the Local Governmental Committee acts. This resolves the conflict of interest that would prevent subordinates from impartially judging their own employer.