"In furnace-like factories, the struggle for water and wage", 3 June 2025

Workers in spinning mills suffer from headaches, dehydration, infections and worse due to intense heat, poor ventilation and a lack of cooling, with little access to health services or time off. ..thousands of migrant workers from Tamil Nadu and eastern states like Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, who come to Dindigul, home to one of the biggest textile and garment hubs in the country. ..Tamil Nadu has more than 1,500 spinning mills and accounts for 46 percent of India’s spinning capacity. Dindigul is one of the main hubs and consists predominantly of spinning mills, which produce yarn of varying fineness that is used domestically and exported. ..Migrant workers form the backbone of these factories – they handle raw cotton, operate spinning machines and package finished yarn – but must endure harsh working conditions.
..In recent years, worker unions have been highlighting the extreme heat inside factories as summer temperatures rise, especially since there is little or no ventilation, and limited hydration breaks are increasingly impacting workers’ health. ..“This May, the maximum temperature stood at 38.5 degrees Celsius and relative humidity was 49 percent,”.. ..a rise in health-related issues during the summer among women workers, including skin infections, urinary tract infections (UTIs), hemorrhoids and menstrual health complications.

.. Spinning mill factories are extremely hot with six people working on nine machines in a 30x30 feet space.. ..At least 80 % of the factories have cement flooring, with very few that have tiled surfaces, which are more cooling. .winding machines that emit more heat as they get older, which is the case in many factories. ..can’t place table fans near the machines.. Cotton dust in the factories is flammable, and table fans can blow it into machines risking a fire hazard.. ...hydration breaks remain a challenge, say union members and workers .. as managers reprimand them if the breaks are longer or more frequent. ..Many women also reduce their water intake to avoid toilet breaks, afraid of reprimand from their supervisors. This results in dehydration and worsens conditions like UTIs and clotting during menstruation..