The Maharashtra government is considering extending the daily working hours of employees in private institutions.
At present, employees work 9 hours a day, but under the new proposal, this could be increased to 10 hours.
This change will be introduced by amending the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017.
This law governs working hours in shops, hotels, entertainment venues, and other commercial establishments.
Cabinet Discussion on the Proposal
According to a report by Hindustan Times, the state labour department presented this proposal to the cabinet on Tuesday. Ministers discussed it but asked for more details before approval.
A senior minister mentioned that clarity is still needed about the provisions and their impact. Hence, no final decision has been made yet.
Key Proposed Changes
The Labour Department has suggested around five major changes in the law. The main ones include:
Working hours: Increase from 9 to 10 hours a day. No employee can be made to work beyond 10 hours daily.
Breaks: Employees working more than 6 hours continuously must get a half-hour break. Currently, the limit is 5 hours.
Overtime: The limit of overtime hours may rise from 125 hours in 3 months to 144 hours.
Total daily hours (with overtime): Currently capped at 10.5 hours, but proposed to rise to 12 hours.
In urgent work cases: The 12-hour daily cap may be removed, allowing employees to work for more than 12 hours if required.
Who Will Be Affected?
If approved, the new rules will apply only to establishments with 20 or more employees. At present, the law applies to places with 10 or more employees.
Why This Proposal?
Officials explained that the proposal was introduced after a long-standing demand from industries.
However, since discussions in the cabinet are still ongoing, it may take some more time before a final decision is taken.
