The Ministry of Labour and Employment has proposed comprehensive amendments to the Factories Act, 1948, and invited comments by the first week of July.
A Central legislation enforced by State governments, it was last amended in 1987 after the Bhopal gas tragedy. The newly proposed amendments, on 54 counts, were first proposed in 2008 and have gone through several processes since.
On websiteDirector of Factories, Ramachandra, said the draft proposals have been put up on the Ministry website after consultations with States. “For instance, the suggestion on increasing overtime duration, in keeping with the changed industrial atmosphere, was one among several made by Karnataka,” Mr. Ramachandra told The Hindu .
A major bone of contention in the proposed amendments, as the labour unions see it, relates to the issue of work hours and overtime. K.N. Umesh, secretary of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) in Karnataka, and H.V. Anantha Subba Rao, secretary of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) in Karnataka, described specific proposals as “dangerous”.
‘Gift for corporates’Mr. Umesh argued that three aspects — increasing the period of spread-over (total hours a worker can spend on the factory premises) from 10hrs 30 min. to 12 hours, allowing for 100 hours of overtime in a quarter (double from the present limit), and taking into account only basic and Dearness Allowance while calculating overtime wages — were “a gift to the corporate world”.
Some of the proposals that unions see in a positive light relate to improving safety of workers, relaxing norms for participation of women in some industries and reducing the number of days that an employee needs to work before becoming eligible for benefits, such as leave with pay, from 240 to 90.
Mr. Rao cautioned that there ought to be a mechanism to ensure that the promised “safeguards” were in place, while allowing women on night shift.
A precursorMr. Umesh said amendments to the Factories Act were a precursor to a larger plan to amend other labour laws. “The real danger will come when the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, is amended, which is on the anvil,” said Mr. Rao.
The notification on amendments to the Factories Act went online on June 5. Stakeholders can respond within 30 days.
