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The organisation warned that the proposed reforms would erode decades-old labour protections, legalise exploitative work situations, and shrink the organised workforce throughout the State.
The amendments, if applied, will have an effect on the Factories Act, 1948 and the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017, the assertion mentioned. The State authorities has mentioned that the choice is a step in the direction of “attracting funding, increasing industries, and creating extra employment alternatives.”
However, PUCL Maharashtra has rejected these claims, stating that the reforms would weaken current protections relatively than enhance them.
“These amendments are designed to legalise overwork and coercively push employees right into a harsher, exploitative regime,” mentioned Shiraz Bulsara Prabhu, President of PUCL Maharashtra. “Far from creating jobs, this may cut back employment by changing 8-hour shifts with 12-hour ones, successfully shrinking the organised workforce by practically one-third,” he added.
Under the proposed modifications to the Factories Act, the workday could possibly be prolonged from 9 to 12 hours, whereas necessary relaxation breaks could be delayed from after 5 hours to after six. The permissible day by day work restrict would rise from 10.5 to 12 hours, and the quarterly additional time ceiling would enhance from 115 to 144 hours.
Similarly, amendments to the Shops and Establishments Act would elevate working hours from 9 to 10 hours and exclude institutions with fewer than 20 employees from regulatory protection. PUCL estimates this would scale back protections from 85 lakh institutions to only 56,000, leaving lakhs of employees susceptible.
“Exempting smaller institutions will push numerous employees into exploitative situations with out authorized recourse,” mentioned Sandhya Gokhale, General Secretary of PUCL Maharashtra. “At a time when contractual labour is already widespread, this step institutionalises sweatshop-like practices.”
PUCL has additionally warned that longer working hours may worsen office security and public well being. Studies present that extended shifts enhance the danger of accidents, exhaustion, stress-related diseases, and occupational hazards, the assertion mentioned.
The organisation in contrast India’s trajectory with international labour practices, stating that many developed nations have moved in the direction of shorter workweeks. For instance, France enforces a 35-hour work week, with any hours past that counted as additional time.
“India was among the many earliest signatories to the International Labour Organisation’s Hours of Work Convention, 1921, which enshrined the eight-hour workday,” Mr. Prabhu mentioned. “By reversing this historic achievement, the federal government is dismantling rights received by means of greater than a century of employees’ struggles.”
PUCL has demanded that the complete texts of the proposed amendments be made publicly obtainable in Marathi and English and displayed in all Labour Department workplaces. The organisation has urged the federal government to carry in depth consultations with commerce unions, employees’ teams, and different stakeholders earlier than passing any laws.
The civil liberties group has additionally introduced plans to marketing campaign towards the proposed reforms in alliance with commerce unions and informal-sector employees’ organisations. It intends to foyer the Legislative Assembly’s Standing Committee and opposition MLAs to dam the amendments and, if obligatory, problem the modifications in court docket.
“Instead of pushing employees into longer hours, the federal government ought to discover progressive reforms, equivalent to lowering working hours with out chopping wages, to enhance productiveness and defend employee welfare,” Ms. Gokhale added.
