Women Allowed To Work Night Shifts: Karnataka Assembly Passes Bill

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly passed a bill on Wednesday amending the Factories Act to allow women to work night shifts at factories. The bill also allows employees who work for 12 hours a day for four consecutive days to take off from work for three days in a week.

According to Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister JC Madhuswamy, the bill was passed without any debate in the assembly. The bill will go to the Legislative Council.

Karnataka Grants Night Shifts For Women

"There were limitations on work hours for women. The government received pressure from everywhere, including the software industry, to relax this. The High Court has also directed that equal opportunity should be provided to all under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution," Madhuswamy told the Assembly.

In 2020, the government allowed women to work night shifts at restaurants, hotels, cafes, theatres, and other similar establishments.

Further, The bill allows the government to increase daily work hours to 12 from 9, but not exceed 48 hours a week. This is with the view of creating more economic activity and employment opportunities.

"We are increasing working hours to 12 hours per day. Those who work for 12 hours a day for four consecutive days can take off from work for three days," said Madhuswamy.

The bill allows women to work night shifts between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. This will require employers to put in place a long list of safety measures. "It is the duty of the employer or other responsible persons to prevent or deter the acts of sexual harassment," read the bill.

The bill directs employers to provide transportation for women workers who work night shifts to and from the workplace. The transport vehicles should be equipped with GPS and CCTV. Employers should also ensure that there are "appropriate working conditions" for women, and "no woman employee should have reasonable grounds to believe that she is disadvantaged in connection with her employment," states the bill.

According to the bill, women workers should be employed in batches of at least ten. Further, factories must have adequate lighting and CCTV coverage. Backups of CCTV footage should be kept for at least 45 days.

The bill also allows the government to provide extra pay for those working overtime. Employees who work overtime duty should be paid wages "at the rate of twice the ordinary rate" by employers.

Suggested Reading: Women Factory Workers To Get Free Sanitary Napkins In Meghalaya