TN govt builds houses for workers near factories

According to officials, the project is being built at various locations, including in Sriperumbudur, which is a major hub for automobile and electronics manufacturing and in the industrial town of Hosur.

The Tamil Nadu government has embarked on a project to provide affordable housing to employees close to their factories in a bid to attract investments and to boost the state’s industrial and economic growth.

To be sure, the accommodation will be provided for free to the workers. (ANI)

According to officials, the project is being built at various locations, including in Sriperumbudur, which is a major hub for automobile and electronics manufacturing and in the industrial town of Hosur.

In Sriperumbudur, the housing project is being built by the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT, responsible for development of industrial land and infrastructure). Once completed, likely in a year, the ₹1,000 crore project would be able to house up to 20,000 people, officials said.

“The Tamil Nadu government is working on providing quality industrial housing in close proximity to high employment-oriented industries, including in electronic hardware manufacture, mainly as a labour welfare and productivity enhancing measure in the post pandemic scenario,” S Krishnan, additional chief secretary, department of industries, investment promotion and commerce, said.

A senior official, who did not wish to be named, said: “Several workers travel more than a 100 km in company buses to reach the factories, so accommodating them close to the industries is something that employers require, so they will pay for it.”

The official added: “The accommodation will be on a rental basis let out by the state directly to the employers. We are planning dormitory-style housing. Depending on the budget, we will construct rooms which can be shared by two, four and six people.”

To be sure, the accommodation will be provided for free to the workers.

In Hosur, where Tata Electronics Private Limited has invested more than ₹5,000 crore to build an electronic ecosystem to manufacture platforms and bases for mobiles phones such as iPhones, the government has tied-up with the private player to develop the industrial housing project with accommodation facilities for 18,000 people, officials said. The project is expected to cost the government ₹875 crore.

While the state government had been planning the project for the past few years, the 2021 protests by employees at Foxconn iPhone plant in Sriperumbudur against the living conditions and facilities accelerated the efforts.

After the factory was shut for more than 20 days and after the pandemic-induced lockdowns in 2020, the state government decided to look for ways to retain business owners and their employees.

The senior official quoted above said the decision to build affordable housing for the factory workers is an “outcome of the lessons” learnt during the Covid-19 lockdown when migrant workers were forced to return on a short notice and after the protest by employees, demanding better living conditions at Apple’s contract manufacturing firm, Foxconn. “And the state has its own way of handling the issues surrounding the living conditions of workers,” the official said.

In December 2021, the Foxconn factory in Sriperumbudur, 42 km from Chennai, was shut for 20 days following protests by workers over conditions at the company’s living quarters and food quality. The factory employs 15,000 people, including 10,000 women.

It was not until the state government stepped in with a few recommendations, such as bedding to all employees and housing less workers in each room, which was agreed by the Foxconn management, that the factory later reopened in a staggered manner.

The senior official said key lessons were learnt from the Foxconn shutdown, which could have shown Tamil Nadu in bad light for investors. “We wanted more investment in the labour-intensive sectors, which employ more women, and therefore, the government decided to build homes for the workers,” the official said.

B Senthil Nathan, vice-president of Hosur Industries Association (which comprises 140 large and medium industries, including Tata Electronics, TVS, Delta Electronics, Ashok Leyland and Unilever) said the government’s initiative addresses the problems of housing faced by new industries and it can cut down on long commutes.

He added that Tata in Hosur has rented marriage halls, hostels and single rooms for their workers. “Industrial hubs are usually in places which lack infrastructure and development. Even Hosur is not an urban developed area, so housing is fragmented and scarce,” said Nathan, who is also the CFO of First Steps Baby Wear Private Limited based in Hosur.

“Then there is the need for accommodation of higher level workers. So more people will join industries where quality housing with basic infrastructure like potable water and sanitation and safety is provided. This also makes up for the infrastructure deficit. On an average, industries ferry buses 60 km away on a daily basis. Instead of paying for the buses, industries will readily pay rent which ensures that their employees are close by, live in good conditions which will increase productivity,” he said.

On a smaller scale, two hostels for working women are being set up at a cost of ₹20 crore in Cheyyar industrial complex and in Sriperumbudur and another 600-bed facility in Shoolagiri industrial park for ₹30 crore, according to announcements made in the demands for grants during the ongoing budget session in the Tamil Nadu assembly. “There are more projects in the offing. It’s something new that we are working on, so it’s running on various legs,” the official said.

With assistance from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and shelter funds managed by the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation (TNIFMC), the industries department will be constructing the houses while the social welfare department will be coming up with working women’s hostels.