State-funded hostel for female Foxconn workers marks new era in India’s industrial housing

The facility is not just a hostel, but a residential complex with open-air gyms, recreational areas like badminton courts and lawns, a cafeteria and dining hall, which the company will manage. It also has CCTVs and a back-up power system.

At the moment, some Foxconn employees live in a hostel within the company premises and others share rooms in neighbouring villages. Workers will be asked to move to the new complex from October, government sources said.

“Once the residents move in, we will also lease the adjacent 1.2ha land for a shopping complex, with ATMs, restaurants, grocery shops, library, beauty parlours, and everything working women need,” said Dr K. Senthil Raj, managing director of the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Sipcot), which constructed the complex. 

The state is investing in staff housing to not just attract global manufacturers and out-of-town qualified female workers, but also improve safety and reduce absenteeism and late reporting that affect productivity.

This marks an attempt to shift from the scattered privately run women’s hostels in villages and towns to government-run housing that factories can rent for their workers.

“We know that industrial housing complexes in manufacturing hubs will boost productivity and improve employment. Along with qualified manpower, this is social infrastructure that will give the state a competitive advantage to attract more investment,” said the Tamil Nadu government’s chief secretary N. Muruganandam. 

“South-east Asian countries and China have a township model for worker accommodation. While entire townships are not feasible in populated India with shrinking land parcels and diverse players, we decided to build a residential complex that Foxconn can rent,” he added.

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}