A division bench comprising Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice VM Velumani, while hearing a plea alleging use of child labourers in private textile mills in Tirupur, on Friday, said the report on children being transported without COVID-19 tests and e-passes is a tip of the iceberg. While people are unable to get e-passes through the regular process, brokers are available for getting e-passes at a cost ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 2000, the bench noted.

Seeking the government to take a serious look into the issue, the bench observed that for the past four months people are unable to travel from one district to another and are facing untold misery. It is shocking to hear that the officials concerned are exploiting the situation.

However, the bench on directing the private firm to explain as to how the children were transported without e-passes, recorded the submission of Tiruvannamalai Chief Welfare Committee Chairperson M Premalatha that though the said firm has been allowed to deploy 250 adolescent labourers (14 to 18 years), there were as many as 331 members and no proper registry for the same was in place.

Also, recording the submission that deployments of two child labourers were found in the inspection held on July 28, the bench expressed concern over the trend that the factories in Tirupur, Coimbatore and Erode preferred adolescent labourers as they would learn the trade in a single shift when compared to adults.

Parents who send children for work at the cost of their education to make money need to be prosecuted, the bench observed, directing the police and labour departments to file a report on the issue and the fate of those adolescents who expressed their willingness to return home.