Women ITI trainees to get period leave in Kerala

Saturday will be a holiday for all ITI trainees

Minister for General Education and Labour V. Sivankutty on Thursday announced two days of menstrual leave a month for women trainees in industrial training institutes (ITIs) in the State.

The Minister said that this was a long-standing demand of women trainees. Women are making their presence felt in every field, even in arduous skill training trades. It was against this backdrop that period leave was being announced for women trainees.

The State government has already sanctioned period leave for women students in universities. An order of the Labour and Skills department issued on Thursday said the Kerala State Industrial Trainees’ Council 2022 had appealed for menstrual leave for the women trainees citing the physical discomfort and mental stress experienced by them during periods. This forced them to take leave, affecting their attendance, and making them ineligible to appear for examinations. The Students Federation of India State committee too had submitted a petition in this regard. The Training director then appointed a committee to look into the issue. The committee recommended that the trainees could be sanctioned period leave, the order said.

Mr. Sivankutty also announced that all ITI trainees would get a holiday every Saturday. To prevent loss of training time on this account, ITI shifts would be amended. The first shift would be from 7.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the second shift from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

Even though Saturdays were a holiday, they could utilise the day for shop-floor training, short-term courses, and other extra-curricular activities.

Published - November 28, 2024 09:46 pm IST