Latest news with #Factories
Indian Express
17 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Gujarat govt amends Factories Act; increased working hours, women in night shifts among key changes
The Gujarat government has promulgated an ordinance — Factories (Gujarat Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 — amending the Factories Act, 1948 allowing 12-hour work shifts, with a cap of 48 hours in a week and night shifts for women among others. The Labour, Skill Development and Employment Department of the state government promulgated the ordinance on July 1 as the Gujarat Assembly is not in session. The ordinance states that it has been promulgated 'to grant relaxation to the factories to boost economic activities, attract investment in national importance to new projects and generate employment'. The key amendment includes increasing a worker's maximum working hours from current nine hours to 12 hours with a cap of maximum 48 hours in a week; the ordinance has amended Section 54 of the principal legislation. It requires a worker's written consent to work for increased working hours. The amended Section 54 reads, '…the State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, extend the daily maximum hours of work…up to twelve hours inclusive of interval for rest in any day, subject to a maximum of forty-eight hours in any week as specified in Section 51, with respect to any group or class or description of factories on such conditions as it may deem expedient, subject to the written consent of such worker for such work, and the remaining days of the said week for the worker shall be paid holidays.' Another amendment to the principal act enables the state government to extend the total number of hours of work of a worker without an interval from five to six hours due to the provision of flexibility in working hours in the amended Section 54 by issuing a notification. For overtime work, the worker is entitled to wages at the rate of twice his ordinary rate of wages. In another important amendment to the principal Act, the ordinance has increased the cap on the total overtime work hours from 75 hours to 125 hours in a quarter. A clause has been added to the amendment saying, 'a worker may be required to work for overtime subject to the written consent of such worker for such work.' Another important amendment to the Factories Act, through the ordinance, allows women workers to work in night hours from 7 pm to 6 am with 16 conditions like duty of the employer to prevent or deter commission of acts of sexual harassment and to provide the procedures for the resolution, prosecutions of acts of sexual harassment by taking all steps required, to provide appropriate working conditions with respect to the work, leisure, health and hygiene to further ensure that there is no hostile environment towards women. Other conditions include providing proper lighting and CCTV coverage not only inside the factory, but also surrounding of the factory and to all places where the female workers may move out of necessity in the course of work, women workers not in a batch of less than 10, presence of women security, transport facility, etc. It will not be compulsory for any woman to work in night shifts and a written consent will be obtained from the women who are interested in working the night shifts. Headline: Terms and Conditions EDOT The latest ordinance bringing in amendments to the Factories Act has been promulgated considering the aspect of gender equality and requirement of the industry and workers both, official sources said. A senior government functionary said, 'With certain conditions, women used to work in factories up to 10 pm. The statutory total embargo period on employing women was between 10 pm and 5 am. However, there were demands from both — the workers and the industry — to allow women to work in night shifts as well and to increase the work hours. There are certain tasks for which the woman workforce is more suitable. So, these relaxations have been brought in with strict safety protocol.' Another senior officer said, 'We have considered the gender equality aspect as well. Gone are the days when women were not working night shifts. Today, women are as independent as men.'
Hans India
18 hours ago
- Business
- Hans India
Gujarat govt amends Factory Work Laws, allows 12-hour shift and night duties for women
Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government has introduced a sweeping set of labour reforms through an ordinance that allows factory workers to clock up to 12 hours a day, up from the previous 9-hour limit, while retaining the weekly cap of 48 working hours. The move is part of the Factories (Gujarat Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, which was issued on July 1 by the Labour, Skill Development and Employment Department, in the absence of a state assembly session. The ordinance is aimed at improving industrial flexibility to boost investments, productivity, and job creation in Gujarat's manufacturing sector. Under the revised Section 54 of the Factories Act, daily work shifts can now officially stretch to 12 hours, subject to written consent from workers and adherence to weekly hour limits. In addition, the uninterrupted work period can be extended from five to six hours, pending formal notification. Increased provisions for overtime compensation have also been included: workers will now be paid double wages for extra hours, and the quarterly overtime ceiling has been lifted from 75 to 125 hours, again requiring voluntary worker participation. A key highlight of the amendment is the provision allowing women to work night shifts (between 7 pm and 6 am), a step seen as a push for gender inclusivity in industrial workplaces. However, this will be subject to 16 stringent safeguards, including round-the-clock CCTV surveillance, female security staff, a minimum of 10 women per shift, and secure transportation. Crucially, no woman can be assigned night duties without written consent, and protection from harassment is mandatory. The Factories (Gujarat Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, introduces significant changes to labour regulations in the state, primarily aimed at enhancing industrial efficiency and employment flexibility. Key provisions include increasing the permissible daily working hours from 9 to 12, with a continued weekly cap of 48 hours, subject to the worker's written consent. It also extends the maximum uninterrupted work period from five to six hours, and raises the quarterly overtime limit from 75 to 125 hours, with mandatory double-wage compensation.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Gujarat govt brings ordinance to extend factory working hours, allow women on night shifts
The Gujarat government has promulgated an ordinance amending key provisions of the Factories Act, 1948, allowing an increase in the daily working hours of factory workers from nine to twelve, while capping the weekly working limit at 48 hours. The ordinance also permits employment of women in night shifts under a set of conditions. The Factories (Gujarat Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, issued on July 1 by the Labour, Skill Development and Employment department, comes into effect while the state Assembly is not in session. It seeks to provide 'relaxation to the factories to boost economic activities, attract investment in national importance to new projects and generate employment.' The ordinance amends Section 54 of the Act to allow the state government to notify an increase in daily working hours up to 12 hours, including rest intervals, subject to a maximum of 48 hours in any week. It clarifies that increased hours is contingent on the written consent of the worker. The revised Section 54 also allows the state to extend, through notification, the number of continuous working hours without interval from five to six. Workers will receive overtime wages at twice the ordinary rate. Additionally, the ordinance raises the quarterly cap on overtime hours from the existing 75 to 125, again subject to the worker's written consent. Another key amendment permits employment of women in night shifts—from 7 pm to 6 am—subject to 16 specified conditions. These include mandatory preventive measures against sexual harassment, provision of proper lighting and CCTV coverage in and around the workplace, minimum batch size of 10 women workers per shift, deployment of female security personnel, and provision of safe transportation. The ordinance clarifies that no woman worker shall be compelled to work night shifts and that written consent will be required from those willing to opt for such night shifts
