Taking a leaf out of neighbouring Kerala’s footsteps, Tamil Nadu introduced a Bill to provide mandatory seating facilities for the staff working in shops in the state. The Bill introduced by Labour Welfare Minister and Skill Development C.V. Ganesan sought to amend the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947 by adding a subsection to facilitate seating arrangements to workers, mostly women, in textile showrooms and other shops.

Kerala, after a long agitation by a section of women workers of textile showrooms in Thrissur and other cities demanding “right to sit” introduced a similar bill to provide seats to workers, mostly women, who were made to stand for long hours during their shifts.

The proposed Section 22-A to the Act reads: “The premises of every establishment shall have suitable seating arrangements for all employees so that they may take advantage of any opportunity to sit which may occur in the course of their work and thereby avoid ‘on their toes’ situation throughout the working hours.”