Andhra Pradesh government approves 10-hour daily workday; workers' unions protest
VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh's TDP-led govt has decided to amend labour laws to increase mandatory work hours from nine to 10 a day in all private firms and factories. The move is aimed attracting more investments and industries but has drawn fire from trade unions who argue that the move will turn workers into "slaves".
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Daily working hours were earlier capped at eight before being revised to nine about a decade ago.
The N Chandrababu Naidu-led cabinet has cleared the latest amendments to the labour code.
"Govt has decided to amend these sections as part of its Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) policy. The relaxation of rules will help attract more investments," said information and public relations minister K Pardhasaradhi.
CPM state secretary V Srinivasa Rao condemned the move and demanded its withdrawal.
"The state is under pressure from central govt to amend rules to appease big industrialists. These amendments will only make the workers slaves," Rao alleged.
He pointed out that the Andhra govt had taken this "unfortunate decision" when the entire workforce in the country was getting ready for a strike on July 9 against amendments to labour laws.
Under Andhra Pradesh Factories Act, no adult worker shall be subject to work for more than nine hours in a day.
The Act prescribes a half-an-hour interval after continuous work for five hours in the total slot of nine hours. Unions fear workers would end up putting in over 12 hours daily if the factory managements confine them two hours past the scheduled time.
The Naidu-led cabinet has also decided to amend the rules related to overtime (OT) and night shifts. Women workers are now allowed night shifts. According to rules, employees are entitled to an additional paid holiday in lieu of the night shift.
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However, the facility will now be granted at the discretion of the management.
The overtime schedule has also been increased to 144 hours from 75 hours. This means workers will be entitled to get additional wages in the form of overtime only after working 144 hours.
The existing laws prohibit working in overlapping schedules to reduce the burden on the worker. However, Andhra govt has left the decision to the management.
"Increasing work hours will impact overall health of workers and ultimately performance. It is not a wise move to force a human being to work more than the prescribed eight hours a day," Dr T Seva Kumar, a general physician, said.
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