Labour dept. finds building accommodating Kitex employees congested

Department conducts suo motu inspection following social media posts

An inspection by the Labour Department held on Tuesday found one of the labour camps of the Kitex group of companies at Kizhakkambalam to be overcrowded and unhygienic.

The District Labour Officer (Enforcement) has directed the company to rectify the shortcomings in a week. A follow-up inspection will be held thereafter.

The suo motu inspection was held in the wake of social media posts about the pitiable accommodation facility for workers at the company.

While the accommodation facilities for women employees spread over multiple blocks were found to be satisfactory, one of the two blocks for men housing 1,065 workers was found to be problematic.

“The block had small rooms packed beyond their capacity. The heat was unbearable on account of the tin sheet and the floor was in a dilapidated condition, not to mention the dust. The condition of toilets was found to have been improved since the social media posts emerged but there was still room for improvement,” senior Labour Department sources said.

Company officials claimed that the congestion in rooms was on account of having to temporarily accommodate workers who used to commute daily for work, but unable to travel now because of lockdown restrictions. However, Labour Department officials found that far from convincing since they suspected the arrangement to be more permanent dating before the lockdown.

The three units of the company — Kitex Garments Limited, its processing unit, and the Kitex Childware Limited — collectively employed 10,046 workers. However, only 5,988 of them were found to be present as on Monday as many who had gone back home could not return yet.

The company now has five active pandemic cases, which at one point had risen to 49. As of now, 167 workers are being quarantined for which the company claims to have separate facilities.