According to the government, these reforms aim to make it easier to run a business, attract more investment, create jobs, and at the same time protect workers’ rights, such as ensuring double wages for overtime.
The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday approved changes to existing laws to increase the maximum daily working hours for private sector employees from 9 to 10 hours, PTI reported citing officials. The move is aimed at attracting more investment and creating jobs in the state.
These amendments follow recommendations from a central task force and bring Maharashtra in line with states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura, which have already made similar changes.
The move will ensure smooth functioning of factories and industries during peak demand, while ensuring that overtime compensation is being paid to the workers.
“With this, the limit of daily working hours in industries will increase from nine to 12 hours, while rest breaks will be allowed after six hours instead of five.The legal overtime cap will rise from 115 to 144 hours per quarter, with mandatory written consent from workers.Weekly work hours will also be extended from 10.5 hours to 12 hours,” the statement read.
Revised overtime and work week regulations
Under the revised Shops and Establishments Act, daily working hours will increase from nine to ten. The overtime limit will rise from 125 to 144 hours and emergency duty hours may now go up to 12. These changes will apply to businesses that have 20 or more employees.
Simplified process for small establishments
For establishments with fewer than 20 workers, registration certificates will no longer be required. Instead, they’ll just need to inform the authorities through a simple notification process.
According to the government, these reforms aim to make it easier to run a business, attract more investment, create jobs, and at the same time protect workers’ rights, such as ensuring double wages for overtime.
The state labour department submitted the proposal to the cabinet last week. It stated that the changes would help improve the work environment, especially for women, and address ongoing concerns raised by both workers and employers.
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