Karnataka allows women to work night shifts in factories.
Karnataka allows women to work night shifts in every industry. In 2020, the Karnataka government allowed women to work night shifts at hotels, restaurants, cafés, theaters, and other shops and establishments. Now, the factory (Karnataka Amendment) Bill has allowed women to work in factories.
Karnataka allows women to work night shifts in factories.
The Karnataka state government passed the Factories (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2023, to increase the work duration from the current nine hours to up to 12 hours, including rest periods. Now, Karnataka allows women to work night shifts in factories, too. This is “to create more economic activities and employment opportunities,” as stated in the bill.
This bill also enabled women to work in factories during night shifts with proper consent and security measures. A bill was passed on Wednesday to provide equal opportunities for female employees.
“There were limitations on working hours for women, and there was pressure on the government, including from the software industry, to relax this,” said Law & Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy when the Factories Amendment Bill, 2023 was passed.
“Even the High Court has stated that under Article 14 of the Constitution, equal opportunity must be provided to all”, J C Madhuswamy added.
The Karmadata Factories (Amendment) Bill facilitates the following benefits for women:
- Women allowed to work night shifts at factories. Allow female employees to work 12 hours a day for four days in a row.
- Allow the female workers to take off for three days a week. Subject to a weekly work schedule of 48 hours.
- Allow government to fix work hours for overtime. The employees need to be paid wages at a rate twice the ordinary rate of wages.
To have better clarity on the bill:-
- The women employees can work between 7 pm and 6 am.
- The employer needs to maintain the safety of the female employee.
- The factories should have proper lighting and CCTV coverage, whose footage should be stored for not less than 45 days.
Besides the major provision of the bill, It defines the responsibility of the employer to provide pick and drop facilities to women workers during night shifts.
Moreover, the transport vehicle should be equipped with safety features like CCTV and GPS, mandatory.
The Karnataka state already allowed the women working in hotels, restaurants, cafés, theaters, and other such shops and establishments to work in night shifts in 2020.
The Karnataka State Factories (Amendment) Bill was passed in the assembly with consensus by all parties members.
What is Factory Act?
The Factories Act, 1948 has served to assist to facilitate and ensure the occupational safety, health and welfare of the workers in factories in India. It deals with various problems concerning the safety, health, efficiency, and well-being of persons at workplaces. Recently, Factory act, 1948 was merger into the Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020 with others related nationwide laws.
The Factories Act is administered by the Ministry of Labour and Employment of the government of India through its Directorate General Factory Advice Service & Labour Institutes (DGFASLI) and by the State Governments through their factory inspectorates.
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