State govt tables bill to allow women to work night shifts

The state government on Thursday tabled in the Assembly the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2020, to allow women to work night shifts while providing "legal protection" for them.

The proposed amendment to the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961 comes following a Cabinet decision in December 2019. It was tabled by Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar.

The amendment will remove Section 25 of the Act which prohibits employment of women and young persons during night. Earlier, the government had exempted the IT and ITeS sectors from the prohibition on employing women to work in night shifts.

The section has now been replaced with "Regulation of employment of women during night," under which 16 guidelines are listed by the government. They include providing transport facilities, adequate security guards, creche for kids of employees and others.

The amendment also has provisions to cancel the registration certificates of establishments that fail to comply with the stipulated conditions.

An amendment bill to the Industrial Disputes Act was also tabled to designate some establishments in special economic zones as "public utility services" for three years to encourage investments.