Labour Ministry Proposes 12 Hour Working Day

Labour Ministry in the draft of Occupational Safety, Health and Working Condition (OSH) Codes 2020 proposed that the maximum hours of working in a day be fixed at 12 which will include breaks. The working hours per day can be changed by the establishment as long as no worker works for more than 48 hours in a week.

Maximum hours per week was calculated on the basis of 6 days of working 8 hours each day. The workers will have a break of 30 minutes at least every 5 hours and that no worker will be made to work for more than 5 hours at a stretch.

This proposal has received a lot of criticism because Parliament has passed a limit of 8 hours of work per day.

The Labour ministry has maintained that the increased limit will give opportunities to workers to work overtime and earn more.

As per the draft fraction of hour that is 15 to 30 minutes will be considered 30 minutes while calculating overtime which is contrary to present practice in which minimum 30 minutes are considered for overtime.