CHENNAI: The State government has instructed its employees at the Secretariat to avoid “casual attire” while in office and asked them to wear “neat, clean, formal attire that is appropriate to the workplace setting so as to maintain the decorum of the office”. The dress code issued to the employees also said male employees should come in formal trousers or veshti (dhoti) reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress while female staff should wear saree or salwar kameez or churidhar with dupatta.
In an order, Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan, brought amendments to the Dress Code prescribed in Tamil Nadu Secretariat Office Manual. Hitherto, the relevant portion of the dress code in office manual said: “Government servants are not bound by any restrictions in the matter of dress and are at perfect liberty to wear, while on duty, whatever dress they like, provided it is in conformity with the ideas of decency current in society.”
This was replaced with the following directive on May 28: “Government servants are required to wear neat, clean, formal attire that is appropriate to the workplace setting so as to maintain the decorum of the office, while on duty, like saree or salwar kameez or churidhar with dupatta of sober colour in the case of female government servants and formal shirts with formal pants in the case of male servants. Casual attire shall be avoided.” However, on Saturday, the chief secretary issued another order further amending the above directive by including the words : “...formal pants or veshti (dhoti) reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress.”
The order also said : “In case of appearance before a court of tribunal or any other judicial forums, a male officer should wear a short buttoned-up coat with full sleeves worn with trousers and if the officer prefers an open coat, he should invariably put on a tie as well as that the dress should be sober and subdued in colour and design. As for a female officer, she should wear a saree or salwar kameez or churidhar with dupatta of a sober colour.”