Santosh Lad | Photographic credit:
The proposal of the Karnatak government to extend the working time from nine to 10 hours a day, as well as the permission of increased overtime work is likely to be submitted to the cabinet before the adoption of any decision. This comes in the middle of the opposition by the Mixed Committee of Trade Unions (JCTU), which represents eight trade unions in the state and in Karnataka report IT/ITES employees of the Union to this step.
On the basis of the direction of the center requested by the States to simplify the law and rules that manage working hours, the Ministry, orbit, orbit a copy of the bill to amend the 1961 trades and facilities law and to increase the ceiling at overtime. Companies, offices, pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels and shopping centers, among many others that offer commercial services, fall under the warranty.
Although the Minister of Labor Rohini Sindhuri on Wednesday met with participating parties where the organizations of employers and trade unions were received in favor of the proposed change and against the proposed amendment, the Minister of Labor Santosh Lad told Hindu that there would be more consultations on this issue.
One more meeting
“The discussion began after Manoj Joshi (Secretary, Trade Union Ministry of Land Resources) presented a presentation to the main secretary to extend working hours to 10 hours and in easy business,” the minister said. “We called a meeting to give us an opinion on the proposal. We will also apply our mind. We will call a meeting of the parties.”
Mr. Lad, who could go to the cabinet, said, “We will call after we strive for the concurrence of the main minister and all colleagues of the cabinet. No decision has been made yet. Any decision that will be taken will be useful for the working class.”
The changes of working laws that have been moved by the center and implemented in some countries with the BJP government are discussed in Karnataka. The state also established a working group after a meeting on the “reducing compliance and deregulation”, which was promoted by the Center to make proposals.
In addition to designing an increase in daily working hours to 10 of the current nine hours, the proposed change of the law seeks to enable the daily work of overtime from one hour to two hours, allowing an increase in overtime in three continuous months from 50 hours to 144 hours.
Trade unions are against
Meanwhile, the Karnataka State IT/ITes of the Union’s employees described a proposal to facilitate 12 hours of work a day (including two hours of overtime) as “modern slavery”. The Union, whose representatives attended the meeting on Wednesday, said that the amendment would allow the company to allow a system of two shifts instead of the existing three shifts.
Jctu in his memorandum, which sought to download the proposal, said: “After similar reforms in Gujarat, registered devices have shown a decline in 18%. Karnataka already has 32% graduate unemployment (AISHE 2023). It would worsen and could lead to a compression of workforce by about 30%, feared and adding that it would increase unemployment between youth in the CARNATION.
In May, on the basis of the Government Directive, the State Government moved to change the exchange hours under the Act on Factory for Workers. This step also received the will from the trade unions after which the state government gave changes to Backburner.
Published – June 18, 2025 21:38
