The Kochi Metro, which is expected to become functional by next year, would offer jobs to transgender persons in
housekeeping, customer care and crowd management sections.
A decision to this effect was taken by the top management of the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) following a suggestion from the Kochi city police.
“This will be the first time a metro rail body will give employment to transgenders, who find it difficult to get absorbed in the mainstream job market. They would not be the KMRL staff, but would be part of the system,’’ said KMRL official.
He said the KMRL had earlier decided to hand over the house keeping and customer care jobs to women members of the Kudumbasree, a poverty eradication project of government, as part of a social inclusion programme.
“Now, we have asked the Kudumbasree to include a group of transsexuals in the jobs outsourced to them. The police would first screen the transgender persons, who would be trained by Kudumbasree. Afterward, they would be absorbed into the metro rail’s system,’’ source said.
The Kochi city police have a registry of 120-odd transsexuals. The other day, a group of local transsexuals had clashed with those from outside Kerala. Some of them also complained about police high-handedness. On Tuesday, they took out a protest march to the office of Kochi city police commissioner, who later held discussions with their representatives.
They complained to the police that they were forced into sex work as the mainstream society refused to offer them jobs. Hence, the police mooted the idea of absorbing them in the work force associated with the
Kochi metro.
KMRL Managing Director Elias George took the decision after holding discussions with city police commissioner, M P Dinesh, and officials of the Local Self Governing Department on rehabilitating the transgender people.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/kochi-metro-to-offer-jobs-to-transgenders-2896447/
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