New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday passed a bill to amend the Factories Act, 1948, to increase the daily working hours from 8 to 12 hours.
The bill was introduced in the assembly on 12 April.
Addressing the media after the assembly session on Friday, Labor Minister CV Ganesan said that The revised 12 daily working hours have not been extended to all companies and factories, but will be implemented “only where the workers prefer it.”
Ganesan said the bill would have no impact on the current 48-hour work-week, and there would be no change in terms of weekly off and overtime pay.
Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu, who was accompanied by Ganesan, said, “Whether the establishment of a 12-hour working day and safety for laborers in the factory will be assessed before giving approval.”
Ganesan said the amendment would bring in “industrial flexibility”.
On Friday, ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) allies like Communist Party of India (CPI), CPI (Marxist), Congress, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi opposed the bill. (VCK). Opposition parties like Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) walked out of the House.
BJP MLA in the assembly Nainar Nagendran urged the DMK government to re-examine the bill.
In February, the Karnataka Assembly also passed The Factories (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2023, which allows industries to have a 12-hour working day, but a maximum of 48 hours in a week.
According to reports, in May 2020, 10 states – Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand, Assam, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh – amended labor laws to propose 12-hour working hours during the pandemic. ,
The UP government had also issued an order to increase the daily working hours from 8 hours to 12, but withdrew it in May 2020.
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‘If laborers agree then only 12 hours’
CPM MLA Nagai Mali while talking to the media after the session said that the bill negates the struggle of the workers which ensured them an 8-hour working day and said that it is in favor of corporate companies.
Ganesan, however, insisted that the bill was not against the workers.
Representations are being received from several industries and industry associations by the state government to bring about reforms in working hours, by making statutory provisions for flexible working hours, citing number of benefits especially for women employees, industry and workers Giving. the economy as a whole,” Ganesh said.
In the bill, the Tamil Nadu government has stated that the state is home to major manufacturing companies and has the largest number of factories and industrial workers in the country.
With the latest amendment on Friday, the government introduced a new provision – Section 65A in the existing Factories Act.
The new section says: “Notwithstanding anything contained in section 64 or section 65, the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, exempt, subject to such conditions and restrictions, if any, and for such period or periods notification, any or all of the provisions of sections 51 (weekly hours), 52 (weekly holiday), 54 (daily working hours), 55 (for periods or intervals of work) factory or group or class or description of factories), 56 (hours of spreadover or daily work not to exceed 10.5 hours including intervals) and 59 (wages for working overtime) are provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder.
Addressing a press conference after the session, leaders of the coalition parties said that Chief Minister MK Stalin was not in the assembly when the bill was passed, and hence would wait to see the state’s action plan and then react.
CPM MLA Mali said the political parties of the alliance had met Stalin in the morning before the session and raised objections to the bill, and the CM had also assured that a committee would be set up to study it.
VCK MLA Sinthanai Selvan also said that he The Chief Minister was requested to send this working time reform bill to a committee for study.
(Editing by Anumeha Saxena)