Improve working environs, TN govt tells Foxconn

The State government on Saturday issued a multi-point advisory to Foxconn Technology India Ltd, supplier of iPhone, to improve the working and living conditions of its contract workers.

Over a week after workers of the Foxconn plant in Sriperumbudur near here staged a road roko on the arterial Chennai-Bengaluru highway in protest of the poor working and living conditions, the State government issued an advisory to the firm, which has accepted all the suggestions by the government.

A statement issued by the government in this regard said it has advised Foxconn to improve the working and living conditions of its contract workers, mainly basic amenities like required space, bathrooms, lavatories, drinking water and ventilated rooms at the hostels. Advising the management to obtain quality certification from the district Collector for the hostels, the government has also exhorted the Foxconn management to set up a kitchen at the hostel and supply quality food to the workers, which was one of the major grievances of the protestors.

The advisory also includes suggestions to the iPhone supplier to grant leave for emergencies to workers and find a temporary replacement for them through manpower agencies. The advisory was issued following a meeting held by Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Irai Anbu with the representatives of Foxconn, industries secretary and ADGP of Law and Order here on December 23. The statement said the representatives of Foxconn have agreed to implement all the suggestions of the government. The statement quoted the firm’s representatives saying they would ensure basic amenities at the hostels accommodating women and supply of quality food by the contractors.

The government release said that the government gives importance to industrial growth and employment but it would always prioritise the welfare and safety of workers, especially women workers.