The central government is contemplating a change in the 1948 law to allow a longer reshuffle in the working period of factories. In fact, due to the lockdown caused by the corona virus, there is a shortage of laborers at present, while the demand for everyday goods has increased. That is why the government is considering a change in it.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, the new change in the law will give companies the right to increase the shift. At present, there is an eight-hour shift daily. Only six days a week (or 48 hours) can be done. This is also the accepted norm. If this proposal is decided then the daily shift will be 12 hours. This proposal will allow to extend the time to six days a week (72 hours).

According to two senior officials, the proposal for amendment of the Factories Act of 1948 is under consideration. The current law Section 51 of the 1948 Act states that no adult can be forced to work in a factory. Also, no work can be done more than 48 hours in any week.

Although there is a provision of overtime in the same Act, which has been used by Indian companies for 72 years, the Government believes that such provisions should be made in exceptional circumstances.

Labor shortage the real problem
The executive manager of a large consumer products company said that labor shortages are a real problem, not because their company employs contract workers, but because the local administration is currently deciding how many workers they are allowed to pass curfew. Will give. In this case only 50 percent of the people can get a pass, in many cases it is even less.

Accordingly, workers will be paid. All this is currently part of a plan. The proposal is being supported by a group of senior officials, including Consumer Affairs Secretary Pawan Aggarwal and Internal Trade Promotion Department Secretary Guruprasad Mahapatra.
Additional labor earnings
The first officials who are directly involved in the discussion said that the low movement of large numbers of workers amid restrictions could ensure this proposal. But long working hours will mean increasing production capacity to higher capacity. For this, the workers will get extra money, it will also solve their income problem and their earnings will increase.

While factory workers are already entitled to overtime. The law allows for a maximum of 120 hours of work over three months in overtime. The law also states that for each hour of overtime, a worker is entitled to twice the normal rate of wages.

The second official said that this amendment would ensure higher income for employees and reduce the requirement of workers by 33 percent. The scheme fits perfectly on the current situation, when a large number of workers are living at home or in shelters provided by the states.

Trade union unhappy
However, trade union leaders are unhappy with the proposal to extend the shift time. Workers are already working overtime in some factories. He says that the government wants to extend the working hours to a longer duration. There is no use of workers in this. They will do more work with less pay.

CITU Secretary General Tapan Sen said that the government should focus on mass layoffs, rather than this cheap strategy, which is now being discussed in industries across India.