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After Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka government has proposed to amend two laws by raising the upper limit of work hours from nine to 10 hours a day and excluding establishments with less than 10 employees from the purview of the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961
Recently, the TDP-led NDA government in Andhra Pradesh decided to raise the maximum working hours from nine to 10 hours per day "for ease of doing business and attracting investors".
This has sparked discussion online, as netizens raised questions on work-life balance.
A user on social media platform X raised question on how an employee can take care of themselves and their family if they spend extra time on work.
"This means 10 hr billable, 1 hr lunch, 3 hrs traffic, 1 to 2 hours extra free work. If you suck 15 hours of a person what is left to take care of themselves and family?," a user wrote.
"We can hear stories of more people dying of heart attacks. I feel for the kids, they never get time with parents," the comment further read.
Another user on X wrote, "The real acche din has been for India's rich and big IT honchos."
"Whatever they want, the govts, irrespective of the party, concedes. Now, 10 hours working day to increase 'productivity' in AI era. Bonanza," it further read.
A third user raised asked if this move will be applied to public servants too.
"Will this law apply to public servants such as politicians? I doubt," the user wrote.
According to Section 7 of the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961, the working hours per day cannot exceed nine hours and the maximum hours of overtime cannot exceed 10 hours. The Act also puts an upper limit of 50 hours on overtime (OT) work for three months.
Through the proposed changes, the state government seeks to extend the maximum working hours to 10 hours a day and the maximum overtime to 12 hours a day. It also seeks to increase the overtime limit from 50 to 144 hours in three months.
(With DHNS and PTI inputs)