Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA), Tiruppur Stakeholders Forum (TSF), and Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI) jointly organized a stakeholder engagement session on migrant labour welfare, focusing on health, safety, gender-based violence, and grievance redressal. The session was held at the Padma Shri Dr. A. Sakthivel Auditorium on 4th July 2025.
Shri. V. Elangovan, Chairman of TSF and Vice President of TEA, welcomed the participants and emphasized the urgent need to address the growing shortage of migrant workers. He highlighted ongoing TSF initiatives related to worker welfare and stressed the importance of finding collaborative solutions to reduce employee attrition through improved health, safety, and accommodation facilities.
Shri. Kumar Duraisamy, Joint Secretary of TEA, spoke about the anticipated growth in textile production due to upcoming trade agreements with the UK, US, and the EU. He underscored the need to address labour shortages by strengthening infrastructure related to medical care, children’s education and safe working environments of migrant workers.
ETI representatives Shri. Giles Bolton, Executive Director, Shri. Laurent Arnon, Senior Advisor, Apparel and Textiles and Shri. Rana Alok Singh, Regional Director, South Asia shared their perspectives on broader challenges, including women’s safety, prevention of gender-based violence, workload, working hours, and the impact of climate change. They noted that while solutions may take time, sustained dialogue is essential for long-term improvements.
Representatives from trade unions, NGOs, trade associations, brands and the social welfare department participated and shared their insights on key issues such as housing for workers, healthcare, education, alcohol bans and the need for awareness campaigns in migrant workers’ native languages.
Factory Inspector Shri. Saravanan informed that over 2 lakh migrant workers in Tiruppur have been registered on the Tamil Nadu government’s portal and requested companies to support and effectively use the system.
Shri. Duraisamy reaffirmed TEA’s commitment and assured that the Tiruppur Stakeholders Forum (TSF) would continue to address the needs of both stakeholders and workers. Dr. R. Aruna, Consultant with ETI, was also present at the session.
Following the discussion, Shri. Giles Bolton and Shri. Laurent Arnon presented a summary of the session’s key takeaways to TEA’s Honorary Chairman, Padma Shri Dr. A. Sakthivel and President, Shri. K. M. Subramanian.
The event concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Shri. Anand, Executive Committee Member of TEA.
