NEW DELHI: It is an irony that as the second stage of the coronavirus lockdown draws to an end, millions of workers face the prospect of returning to longer working hours.
At least six states have passed laws extending working hours from the currently mandated 8 hours per day to 12 hours per day. According to these governments, the aim is to ensure that companies can operate with fewer workers and reduce the number of shifts while meeting targets.
The Rajasthan government, which passed the notification April 11 extending working hours for three months, says this would allow firms to run operations for six days with a reduction of 33 percent capacity of “people passing through the facility”.
Other states that have passed similar rules include Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.
However, the moot question is whether the workers will be compensated for the extra hours. As per the Rajasthan rules, the additional four hours will be counted as overtime.
The Gujarat government, which passed its guidelines April 17, too said that wages for the extra hours will be in proportion to existing wages. The rules also say that workers must be given a break after six hours.
But several lockdown-hit businesses have expressed the inability to pay wages in full or in part.
“The eight-hour shift was won after years of struggle by working-class movements. It cannot be changed arbitrarily by governments. The changes are illegal, and can be challenged in court,” said Chandan Kumar, coordinator of the Working Peoples’ Charter, a Delhi-based collective of workers’ organisations.
PTI
