Working women’s wings of trade unions across Tamil Nadu held demonstrations on Saturday against the State government’s draft amendment notification that proposes to allow women to work in hazardous industries.
Employment of women in jobs termed hazardous had been prohibited for more than 75 years on health and safety grounds. These include fibreglass and glass manufacturing units, graphite powder processing, chromate operations known to cause cancer, dye manufacturing, fireworks and matchstick factories, pesticide and fertiliser production, benzene-related industries, and processes involving high noise and vibration.
In a joint statement, the organisations criticised the government for issuing the notification without public consultation and for failing to provide clear reasons for scrapping long-standing safety regulations meant to protect women workers.
Malathi Chittibabu, State Treasurer of CITU, warned that exposure to toxic gases, pesticides, lead-based processes, and industrial chemicals results in serious health consequences for women, both in the short- and long-term.
“Several working women are already known to be anaemic. Such jobs might lead to damage to the nervous system, headaches, respiratory illnesses, skin allergies, kidney damage,” she said, adding that portraying employment in hazardous industries as empowering for women was a false narrative.
