#LabourDay long read: For the first time in over a century, Indian workers will have to work for 72 hours in a week, up from 48 hrs, as 5 states — Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab — have amended a labour law for 3 months.
business-standard.com/article/econom…
business-standard.com/article/econom…
When the first law governing factories in India (the Factory Act of 1881) was introduced under British rule in the 19th century, workers got a set of rights related to their working conditions, one of which included a cap on working time of 72 hours in a week.
The max. working hours in a week was set at 72 (12 hours a day for six days a week) partly because of the pressure that British faced from mill owners back home in Lancashire, who feared that they were losing out to competition coming from the low cost Indian textile industry.
India’s first factory regulation also coincided with an uprising in the working class across the world. 
The concept of 8-hour workday was based on the principle of ‘work-life balance’ – 8 hours of work, 8 hours of recreation & 8 hours of sleep.
The world is witnessing an unprecedented crisis because of #Covid19, which has brought the movement of humans & machines to a standstill.
The world is witnessing an unprecedented crisis because of #Covid19, which has brought the movement of humans & machines to a standstill.
To compensate for the loss in production, state governments have started increasing the permissible hours of work — a measure not been taken by other countries so far. India also had one of the most stringent lockdowns, leading to soaring unemployment levels.
The trend was started by the Congress-ruled Rajasthan government through an executive order on April 11, which allowed factories to employ workers for 12 hours a day, up from 8 hours a day under the present law. Appreciating the move, PM Modi asked other states to follow it.
However, to ensure the welfare of workers, the Rajasthan government said the additional hours of work will be treated as “overtime” and workers will be given double the wages for this period. Congress-ruled Punjab government followed suit.
While some other state governments emulated Rajasthan in increasing working hours they didn’t allow doubling of wages for the extra hours. BJP-ruled states Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh said workers will be paid in proportion to their working hours.
In fact, unlike Punjab, States of Gujarat, Haryana, HP & MP invoked a provision under the law that can be only used during a “public emergency” due to “war/external aggression/internal disturbances.” Rajasthan didn't even care to mention which provision of law it has used.
"Isn’t this a public emergency? When was the last time we saw closure of places of worship? Even during the World War all worship places were open but not now. The Gujarat govt feels that this is a public emergency,” Gujarat’s Industrial Safety & Health Director P.M. Shah said.
Centre of Indian Trade Unions’ National President K Hemalatha said, adding that workers will be put under “immense” pressure. “Besides, this will take a toll on their mental health,” she added. She added that already factories do not follow the working hours norm in spirit.
People in India already work longer than average, compared to global peers, according to the National Statistical Office’s (NSO’s) first periodic labour force survey (PLFS) conducted in 2017-18.
business-standard.com/article/curren…
business-standard.com/article/curren…
XLRI professor & labour economist KR Shyam Sundar said that the move will put women workers at a disadvantage, esp in sectors where they are employed in huge numbers - garments, pharma, food processing, among others, due to pressure from within family against long work hours.
Back to history, in 1922, the Factories Act was amended to reduce work hours to 60 in a week, from 72 after India became signatory to ILO convention 1919. Though all countries which signed it had to reduced their work time to 48 hrs a week, India was exempted to keep it at 60.
The Great Depression led to a series of strikes as working conditions across the world deteriorated. The Royal Commission on Labour, which submitted its report in 1931, suggested a reduction in weekly hours to 54 and maximum hours of work to nine. This change was made in 1934.
But because of the Second World War (1939-45) the British allowed non-seasonal factories to operate 60 hours a week as production took a hit.
It was BR Ambedkar, who became the Labour Member to the Viceroy’s Council in 1942, who championed the cause of an 8-hour workday & 48-hour work shift a week in India. Since then, this provision has been etched into India’s labour laws — the ones that the states have now amended.
Also, do read up on the significance of May Day in India. I wrote this piece for @the_hindu
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