Chennai,  Several salespersons of Kanniyakumari, Tenkasi, Tirunelvelli, Madurai and Dindigul districts have alleged that the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishment (Amendment) Act passed by the state Legislative Assembly providing them seats to prevent them from standing through the day was not being practiced.

The Act, stating that the shops and establishments across the state must have seats for salesmen and saleswomen to prevent them from standing through the day, was passed by the Assembly in September 2021.

Kavitha RA (23) has been working in a well-known textile shop since she turned 18 and hails from a rural part of the Tirunelveli district. When contacted by IANS, Kavitha said: "I have to stand from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. when the shop downs its shutters. I came to know from a friend of mine who is working in Chennai that the government had enacted an amendment giving us the right to sit. Rights have to be equal across the state and I do want the district administration to implement this for us also."

She said that the shop belongs to a prominent family and police and district administration would turn their backs to the plight of the salespeople in the shop.

Another salesman, Karventhan, (36) (name changed) also said that he was experiencing the same plight. Speaking to IANS he said: "There is no change here and we are not allowed to sit except during lunch hours and during break time. The shop is under CCTV monitoring and the manager is always watching and if we sit, we are given a stern warning. If the government has passed the amendment, why is it not being implemented."

In Madurai also, a similar situation prevails in textile shops and grocery supermarkets with the salesmen and girls not allowed to sit except during break.

Thenmozhi (27), working with a prominent textile shop for the past nine years said that she was used to standing but turned weak due to this. She said that she has developed several health issues, including varicose veins, by standing for long hours at a stretch.

A study by the labour department of Madurai has revealed that the salesmen and girls in almost all the shops in the districts of Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, Madurai, Dindigul, and other places suffer from varicosis vein in their legs and stagnation of blood.

However, labour department officials told IANS that they are conducting a meeting with the department, trade unions, and the management participating in it. The labour department is planning to create awareness to comply with the rights of the salesmen and sales girls in shops and establishments of South Tamil Nadu.

An owner of a major textile group based out of Tirunelveli, however, said that he has implemented the amendment in his shop once the amendment came into effect.