According to a well-known media, IT companies in Karnataka have proposed to the state government that workers' working hours be increased from 12 to 14 hours. The IT corporations want their idea included in the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961 amendment, according to sources cited by the daily. This would make it possible to legally extend workdays to 14 hours, or 12 hours + two overtime hours.
The report also stated that the state administration is thinking of changing the Act in this regard. The current labour rules provide a maximum of 12 hours of work, or 10 hours plus two hours of overtime.
Strong opposition to the has been expressed by the Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU).
They worry that the amendment would enable businesses to convert from the three-shift system currently in place to a two-shift system, which might lead to the loss of jobs for one-third of the workforce.
"This amendment will allow the companies to switch from the current three-shift system to a two-shift system, and one-third of the workforce will lose their jobs."
This coincides with the ongoing dispute over job reservations in Karnataka. The controversial job reservation law, which sought to provide quotas for Kannadigas in private sector organisations, businesses, and companies, was "temporarily put on hold" by the Karnataka government on Wednesday. State business leaders had harshly criticised the law before it was approved by the cabinet on Monday.
The Karnataka Chief Minister's Office announced that the job reservation bill will be studied and a decision will be made in the upcoming days following a full day of discussions and criticism.
