Karnataka to extend work hours, relax labour laws?

A video conference between Labour Secretary Captain P Manivannan and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) set off speculations Saturday that the government will extend work hours and relax labour laws on the lines of some other BJP-ruled states.

That Manivannan may have given some assurances to the CII came to light when the state chapter of the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) expressed concerns on social media.

With some of AICCTU’s representatives who have taken part in the meeting, the trade union tweeted: “Dear all, get set to work maybe 12-14 hours a day. Labour department told CII that the Cabinet approval for increasing the working hours to 72-100 hours is pending. This is a violation of the Factories Act which stipulates 48 hours per week…”

Despite the Centre stating clearly that there should be no wage or job cuts at this time, the labour secretary told CII that even in such a scenario, action against companies would be taken after ascertaining whether the company is making profits, according to the Twitter thread.

Also, the state government would apparently write to the Centre asking to reduce ESI/PF deductions, apart from stating that essential services companies could initiate action against employees who did not report to work, the trade union claimed, criticising the government for such a move.

When contacted, Manivannan clarified that the discussion on the extension of work hours was misconstrued. “The discussion was 100 additional work hours over four months. It was not about increasing it to 100 hours per week.”

Moreover, the government had not arrived at any decision on any of these aspects and it was still at the level of discussion, he added. “They (the CII) had some concerns. I listened to them. We will work on them soon,” he said.

Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar also said the government had not taken any decision either on the extension of work hours or on easing of labour laws at the moment.

The BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have announced the relaxation of their labour laws in a bid to give a fillip to economic activities that came to a standstill because of the COVID-19 lockdown.