The Meghalaya government has approved an amendment to provide free sanitary napkins for women factory workers at their workplace. This amendment has been passed to the four decade old Factories Rules.
The amendment passed to the 40-year-old service rules has also made it mandatory for the factories to provide personal protective equipment (PPEs) to all workers.
James PK Sangma, Cabinet Minister of Meghalaya says, "After discussion, the proposal to amend rules 25 and 78 (C) of the Meghalaya Factories Rules, 1980 was approved at the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Monday."
After the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment wrote to the state government to incorporate the Model Factories Rules regarding the provision of sanitary napkins for women workers under the Factories Act, 1948, and further to incorporate rules regarding the PPEs for all workers.
Furthermore, the amendment proposed has also included clauses to ensure that the sanitary napkins of required quantity and conforming to Indian standards shall be provided and stored in the women's toilets for their use and would be available on daily basis. The factories shall also provide disposal bins with a lid inside the women's toilets to discard the used napkin which would be later disposed of as per the procedures inspector approved.
The same condition in terms of quality and disposal is also applicable to the PPEs provided. Additionally, the Cabinet has also approved the appointment of former chief secretary P.S. Thangkhiew as the chairman of the Meghalaya State Food Commission (MSFC) and Lamonlang M Syiem as chairperson of the Meghalaya State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR).
Alongside this, the search committee has also recommended appointing Dr. Grenalin Marak, retired superintendent of Tura civil hospital, as a member of the MSFC while renewing the tenure of Ravi Gurng as a legal member.
