Representatives of 25 spinning mills and garment units were sensitised to provisions of the Tamil Nadu Hostels and Homes for Women and Children (Regulation) Act, 2014, that mandates homes, hostel or lodging houses that accommodate women or children to obtain licence from the district administration.
Hygiene, safety, protection, and building stability were among the topics discussed during the programme organised under the joint auspices of Department of Social Defence, Integrated Child Protection Scheme, District Child Protection Unit, and Rights Education and Development (READ) Centre, Sathyamangalam.
After formal inauguration by District Child Protection Officer A. Suresh, sessions on the different topics were handled by N. Maheshwaran, Project Manager, READ, and Balamurugan and Jaleel, Project Advisors of Geneva Gobal. Rajesh, Member, Central Textile Board, also addressed the participants.
The programme was conducted in the backdrop of 80 per cent of the workforce in the 418 mills in the district constituting young girls in the age group of 15 to 18 years. Participants were told that the physical fitness of the girls they employ was of foremost importance. While the young girls are required to work for only four hours, in most of the mills they are exploited with more duration of work, R. Karuppusamy, Director of READ, said. While there are 172 hostels attached to as many mills, only 33 have been registered under the Tamil Nadu Hostels and Homes for Women and Children (Regulation) Act, 2014.
Many hostels have not been able to comply with the norm that there must be 40 sq ft per child and 120 sq feet per woman.
Hostels failing to comply with the Act were urged to fall in line and avoid facing consequences
