There is not even drinking water in Kitex: Labour dept report

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Department of Labour has reported to the government that there are several irregularities in the Kitex company at Kizhakkambalam. The report alleges that there are not enough toilets and workers do not even have access to drinking water. The dispute between Kitex and the government was triggered by regular inspections by the Labour Department based on complaints.

According to the labour department, workers of the company were not paid the minimum wage. Though employees were made to work on holidays, they did not receive any extra money. The employees were not receiving their salaries on time. The department also pointed out that unauthorized fines were levied on workers. The company did not submit the annual return. It has not maintained the register containing the information of the workers. Contract workers were not licensed. There were no necessary medical facilities for migrant workers. Apart from the fact that the salary slip was not kept by the company, the salary register could not be found, the report said.

Meanwhile, Kitex managing director Sabu M Jacob said that the findings in the report were incorrect. He alleged that the report was prepared without examining the documents in the factory.