The Labour Department of Maharashtra has said that the provisions of this Act will be applicable to all establishments where 20 or more employees work. Till now this law was applicable to establishments with 10 or more employees.
Private sector employees in Maharashtra may now have to work 10 hours a day instead of 9. A proposal to increase working hours was put before the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, which was discussed a lot.
It is reported that the Devendra Fadnavis government of Maharashtra is planning to increase the maximum working hours of employees in private establishments from the current nine hours to 10 hours a day by making significant changes in the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017, which will be applicable to places like shops, hotels and entertainment places across the state and will regulate the working hours for employees employed there.
According to a report by our partner Hindustan Times, the state’s labour department made a presentation on this move in the cabinet meeting on Tuesday. People associated with the matter said that during the discussion on this, the cabinet has sought more clarity on the proposal. The report said that the labour department is considering making about five major changes in the 2017 law, the most important of which is the increase in working hours.
Maximum 6 hours work at a time
The proposed amendment to Section 12 of the Labour Act states, “No adult employee shall be permitted to work in any establishment for more than ten hours in any day.” It further proposes that no adult employee shall be permitted to work for more than six hours at a stretch provided he is given a half-hour break during the workday. Currently, an employee can work for a maximum of five hours at a stretch.
There is also a proposal to increase overtime
The Labor Department has also proposed to increase the overtime period for private sector employees from 125 hours to 144 hours in three months. At present, the maximum working time in a day is 10.5 hours (including overtime), which is now proposed to be increased to 12 hours. In case of urgent work, it has also been proposed to remove the limit of 12 hours of maximum working time per day. That is, in such a situation, there will be no maximum limit of work.
Which offices are within the scope?
The department has said that the provisions of this Act will be applicable to all establishments where 20 or more employees work. Till now this law was applicable to establishments with 10 or more employees. That is, institutions like big shops, malls, restaurants, cinema halls, amusement parks or other entertainment centers will come under its purview. A senior minister said on the condition of anonymity that the minister wanted more clarity on the provisions and their impact, so the decision on this has been postponed for the time being.
