Indian state builds housing for female factory staff

Tamil Nadu's worker complex to help draw manufacturers, boost productivity

- Rohini Mohan

SRIPERUMBUDUR, Tamil Nadu-Giant 10-storey blocks stand like a grey Lego complex at the curve of a freshly tarred road in Vallam Vadagal village in Tamil Nadu.

By the end of 2024, these buildings will house 18,720 women working at the biggest Indian factory of Taiwanese iPhone contract manufacturer Hon Hai Technology Group, better known as Foxconn.

Spanning 8.1ha - around half the size of Singapore's Marina Bay Sands the facility is India's first residential complex of such a large scale built by a state government for a private company. It is partly modelled on industrial townships in China and Vietnam.

In a sign of increasing focus in India on providing safe, reliable accommodation for migrant factory workers, especially women, the Gujarat and Assam state governments in the west and north-east have also announced the building of such housing complexes.

Though India's female labour force participation was only 25 per cent over the past decade, more women have been entering the traditionally male-dominated manufacturing sector in recent years.

Women now play a significant role beyond textile and garment factories, particularly in the emerging sectors of electronics and electric vehicles.

Foxconn's largest footprint in India is in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, where it employs around 41,000 workers, of whom 35,000 are women.

Inaugurating the residential facility on Aug 17, Foxconn chairman Young Liu said: "This will be home to thousands of women who will find a job with Foxconn. They will come from many regions in India, from all walks of life, at different stages in their lives."

The sprawling government residential complex in Vallam Vadagal is 20 minutes from Foxconn's mega manufacturing site in Sriperumbudur via company shuttle. It has 24 rooms per floor, each room accommodating six employees.