Mumbai: In the face of gro- wing resistance from trade unions to the state cabinet’s decision to increase working hours in factories from the current 9 to 12 hours and shops and establishments from the current 9 to 10 ho- urs, labour minister Akash Fundkar on Tuesday said the views of trade unions will be taken into account.
“The policy will be for- mulated after considering the suggestions and de- mands of trade unions. The new rules will consider the health, financial, and family interests of the workers,” sa- id Fundkar after meeting with the RSS-backed trade union Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh. Fundkar said the old la- bour rules are becoming re- dundant with the changing times and need to be revised. “Before making changes, an SOP will be prepared and it will be given to the trade unions to study. We will make an effort to solve the pro- blems of the workers on prio- rity,” he said.
The Trade Unions Joint Action Committee, an um- brella organisation of trade unions in the city, has also as- ked for an appointment with the minister. “We are plan- ning protests in front of the labour commissioner’s offi- ce in different districts. We are waiting to hear back abo- ut our request for the mee- ting with the minister,” said Vivek Monteiro from the Trade Unions Joint Action Committee.
According to the amend- ments, the additional hours will be treated as overtime and will be paid at twice the basic wage and allowance ra- te. The amendments also in- crease the overtime period in a 3-month span to 144 hours from the current 100 hours under the Factories Act and 125 hours under the Shops and Establishments Act.
Trade unions say the pro- posed rise in the workday is a violation of ILO norms, which mandate an 8-hour workday and will take a toll on the health of workers. The proposed amendments have been cleared by the cabinet and will need to be cleared by the state legislature before they can be implemented.
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