Officials from the labour department raided four messes at Anna University on Tuesday.
The action was in response to a report in The Hindu (Amid buzz of academics, children’s lives go wasted, April 16) about the employment of children as cleaners in the University mess.
While three messes are run by the University, there is one outsourced to a contractor, said an official from the labour department.
“Students told us about the child worker who cleaned the tables at the mess. When we asked the contractor, he said the boy had been sent away. He was over 14 years of age and was just a relative, the contractor said. We have asked him to produce the boy as soon as possible,” the official said.
Further investigation is on and once the boy is produced, the labour department will conduct medical tests to ascertain his age, and also question him.
