India’s factory crèches, established as essential childcare solutions for working parents in industrial sectors, are now emblematic of systemic neglect. Mandated under the Factories Act, these crèches aimed to balance the demands of labour-intensive industries with the childcare needs of employees. However, post-COVID realities have underscored their inadequacies, leaving a significant gap in care infrastructure.

Pre-2019: An Incomplete Support System

Before the pandemic, factory crèches struggled to meet expectations. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act of 2017 mandated crèche facilities for establishments employing more than 50 workers, with a focus on providing safe and accessible childcare. Despite these efforts, compliance was uneven. Research highlighted that crèches often served only a fraction of the workforce— workers and organisations in the space have highlighted that crèche facilities, designed for approximately 200 children, are often tasked with serving factories employing 2,000 to 3,000 workers, leading to significant overcrowding and inadequate childcare support.

Moreover, poor infrastructure and safety concerns persisted. Many crèches were located near hazardous areas such as waste systems, generators, or noisy equipment. Inadequate staffing, coupled with poorly trained caregivers, further compromised the quality of care. Infrastructure remained inadequate, safety measures lacked enforcement, and trained personnel were in short supply. Despite its limitations, the system represented a lifeline for many workers.

Post-2019: Decline Amid Crisis

The pandemic exacerbated these challenges, pushing the factory crèche system into further decline. Reports suggest that operational crèches under the National Crèche Scheme dropped dramatically. This left parents with few options, especially in the manufacturing and garment sectors, where women comprise a significant portion of the workforce.

Post-pandemic, factory crèche closures disproportionately forced working mothers into impossible choices between leaving their children unattended or losing their livelihoods, exposing systemic neglect of childcare as a fundamental workers’ right. Additionally, the National Crèche Scheme, a key initiative to support childcare, witnessed a decline from nearly 25,000 crèches in 2013 to fewer than 3,900 by 2023.

A lack of accessible childcare facilities leaves many garment workers in Karnataka with limited options for their children. Often due to perceived fears around safety and logistical challenges—such as hazardous locations of crèches or overcrowding and understaffing—many factory workers are forced to leave their children at home unattended or seek informal and less secure arrangements.

A Complex Ecosystem of Needs

The crèche system currently fails to address the diverse needs of India’s workforce:

• Migrant Workers: Migrant parents face additional barriers, including language and cultural differences. Temporary contracts further discourage the use of crèches, as workers may not stay in one location long enough to benefit from these facilities.
• Shift Timings: Factory shifts often start early or extend late into the evening, while most crèches operate within standard daytime hours. Anganwadi centres, which could supplement childcare, open late and close early, making them incompatible with factory schedules.
• Gendered Burden: Women bear a disproportionate responsibility for childcare. Data shows that Indian women spend seven times more hours on unpaid care work than men, limiting their ability to fully participate in the workforce.

Rethinking Factory Crèches: A Shift from Compliance to Care

The conversation around factory crèches needs to move beyond compliance mandates to focus on genuinely addressing the childcare needs of industrial workers. Underinvestment in these facilities has left significant gaps, directly affecting female workforce participation, productivity, and child welfare, while perpetuating cycles of inequality in industrial settings.

Worker-driven childcare models, like those championed by initiatives such as Munnade and Samvada Baduku, underscore the importance of tailoring childcare solutions to meet local and industrial realities. These approaches highlight the need for safe, accessible, and worker-centric crèches that are responsive to the lived experiences of factory workers.

Innovative strategies such as integrating worker input into crèche design, locating facilities close to workspaces but away from hazardous zones, and aligning operational hours with factory shifts can alleviate many current challenges. Additionally, leveraging technology for real-time updates or transport coordination can address logistical barriers.

Investing in factory crèches is not merely a legal obligation but an operational necessity. By redesigning these spaces to reflect workers’ real needs—whether through improved infrastructure, flexible models, or culturally sensitive practices—factory crèches can transform into critical enablers of workforce stability and child development. Such a shift would not only enhance employee well-being and retention but also ensure that their children grow up in safe, nurturing environments.