New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu assembly Friday passed a Bill seeking amendment in the Factories Act, 1948, extending the daily working hours from 8 to 12 hours.
The Bill was tabled in the assembly on 12 April.
Addressing the media after the assembly session Friday, Labour minister C. V. Ganesan said that the revised 12 daily work hours is not given to all companies and factories, but will be brought into effect “only at places where workers prefer it.”
Ganesan said that the Bill will not have any impact on the current 48 hours work-week, and that there will be no changes in terms of weekly holidays and additional wages.
“Whether the factory have the set up and safety for a 12-hour working day for labourers will be assessed before giving approval for the same,” said Industries minister Thangam Thenarasu, who was present along with Ganesan.
Ganesan said that the amendment will bring about “industrial flexibility.”
On Friday, the Bill was opposed by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) allies like the Communist Party of India (CPI), the CPI (Marxist), the Congress, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK). The opposition parties like Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) walked out of the House.
In the assembly, BJP MLA 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 permits industries to have a 12 hours work day, but with maximum of 48 hours of work in a week.
According to reports, in May 2020, as many as 10 states — Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand, Assam, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh had proposed tweaking labour laws during pandemic, revising the working hours to 12 hours.
The UP government had also issued an order increasing the daily working hours from 8 hours to 12, but withdrew it in May 2020.
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’12 hours only if labourers accept’
CPM MLA Nagai Mali, while speaking to the media after the session, said that the Bill negates the labourers’ struggle which ensured them a 8-hour working day, and added that it was in favour of corporate companies.
However, Ganesan insisted that the Bill was not against the labourers.
“Representations are being received from many industries and industry associations by the State Government, to bring out working hour reforms, by making statutory provision for flexible working hours, citing the number of benefits it can bring for workers especially to women employees, the industry and the economy as a whole,” Ganesan said.
In the Bill, the Tamil Nadu government has said that the state is hub of major manufacturing companies and has the highest number of factories and industrial workers in the country.
With the latest amendment Friday, the government introduced a new provision — Section 65 A in the existing Factories Act.
The new section states: “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 as may be specified in the notification, any factory or group or class or description of factories, from any or all of the provisions of sections 51 (weekly hours), 52 (weekly holidays), 54 (daily working hours), 55 (period of work or intervals for rest), 56 (spreadover or daily working hours including intervals shouldn’t be spreadover more than 10.5 hours) and 59 (wages for working overtime) of this Act or the rules made thereunder.”
Addressing a press conference after the session, the leaders of the alliance parties, said that when the Bill was passed Chief Minister M.K. Stalin was not in the assembly, and hence will wait to see the action plan of the state and then react.
CPM MLA Mali said that the alliance political parties had met Stalin in the morning before the session and had objected to the Bill, and that the CM, too, had assured that a committee will be set up to study it.
VCK MLA Sinthanai Selvan also said that he had requested the CM that this working hours reform Bill should be sent to a committee for study.
(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)