Plans for longer working hours in Karnataka factories breach ILO rules, say unions

Photograph: iStock, credit triloks

Under the existing Factories Act 1948, daily working hours in Indian factories cannot exceed nine and a worker cannot be asked to work for more than five hours without a 30-minute interval. However, the Act allows exceptions to these clauses, though only in situations of “exceptional press of work” in a factory.

Under the exemptions, state governments can extend daily working hours up to 12 and a worker can be asked to work continuously for six hours without any break. However, the exemptions are subject to the condition that the total number of hours of overtime worked in three months cannot exceed 75.

However, under the Karnataka state government’s proposed Factories (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2023, daily working hours will be extended from nine to 12 (subject to a 48-hour weekly cap), the hours someone can work without an interval (break) will increase from five to six and the overtime working hours limit will increase from 75 to 145 hours (calculated over a three-month period). The bill, which is currently awaiting the state governor’s assent, will also allow women factory workers to work night shifts, from 7pm to 6am.

The Karnataka government argues the changes will help create more economic activity and employment opportunities, and that increasing the daily maximum allowable hours of work will increase productivity and boost the manufacturing sector.

According to a news report by the Financial Express, the Karnataka government wishes to introduce more flexible work shift rules for factories in a bid to encourage global electronics manufacturing giants – such as mobile phone manufacturers – to open manufacturing plants in the state.

However, trade unions say the changes threaten the health and wellbeing of workers due to the extension of their working day, cave in to the demands of multinational corporations and could even lead to a reduction in factory recruitment as employers extend the working hours of existing employees rather than hire additional staff.

In a formal complaint lodged with the ILO, the AIUTUC argues the bill violates a number of ILO conventions and declarations to which India is a signatory, including the Convention on tripartite consultations (International Labour Standards), 1978, and C001 – Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919. It also urged the United Nations’ labour standards organisation to call on the central government of India to immediately request that the Karnataka government swiftly drops the law.

“The Indian Labour Conference, the apex level tripartite committee, has not been convened to discuss and trade unions are left with no democratic space to raise the concerns of the workers,” said AITUC general secretary Amarjeet Kaur in the formal complaint to the ILO, according to The Hindu newspaper.

The Tamil Nadu state assembly recently passed a similar bill seeking to extend the working hours of factory workers, which has also been criticised by unions.

Apoorva Kaiwar, regional secretary for South Asia at the IndustriALL global workers’ union, said: “We know that in practice many workers in the country [India] have daily working hours going up to 12, but the new law has put a rubber stamp on this illegal practice.

“The amended law violates ILO C001, which the Indian state has ratified. The Convention lays out that daily working hours cannot exceed eight. IndustriALL demands that this anti-worker law be immediately repealed.”

According to media reports, the Karnataka government says amending the law to allow female workers to work night shifts in factories will enhance the employment prospects of women in the state and boost the state’s low female labour force participation rate. However, IndustriALL argues that the change simply “allows employers to cut labour cost since women workers are paid lower wages than their male counterparts for the same work”.

ILO ‘to review working hours in India’
Meanwhile, as a number of Indian states prepare, or propose, to extend the maximum number of daily working hours allowed for factory workers from eight or nine up to 12, the ILO is reportedly conducting a review of working hours and work schedules currently prevalent in India to examine the impact of any proposed changes on the workforce.

According to the Live Mint website, the ILO will analyse different aspects of working conditions and hours, including overtime, and make comparisons between the actual working hours and the duration of work preferred by workers.

The report will also try to assess the impact of long working hours on work-life balance and compare the India-specific findings of its analysis of working hours with the working conditions of other south-east Asian countries. Following this comparison, the report – which is expected in summer 2023 – will give recommendations to improve the work environment in India

According to the Financial Express, following the announcement of proposed changes to labour laws by state governments, in 2020 the ILO asked the relevant authorities to ensure that “all such relaxations adhere to global standards and are implemented after proper consultation. adhere to global standards and are implemented after proper consultation”.

“Certain states in India are moving towards relaxing labour laws with a view to revitalise the economy from the impact of Covid-19,” said the ILO in a statement reported by the Financial Express. “Such amendments should emanate from tripartite consultation involving the government, the workers’ and the employers’ organisations and be compliant with the international labour standards, including the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRW).