Odisha Cabinet accords green signal for women employees work in night shifts, increase in daily working hours to 10

The Odisha Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, on Monday approved the proposal to increase the daily working hours from 9 to 10 hours and permit the women employees to work during night hours.

The Cabinet proposed to amend the Odisha Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1956, to bring out reform to improve the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in the State and to create more economic activities.

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Proposing to remove the prohibition on the engagement of women employees during night, the Cabinet decided to amend the five-decade-old Act to enable women employees to get engaged during night with their written consent and subject to conditions of safety, security, and dignity of women as may be notified by the State Government, said a senior official.

Women shall be entitled to be employed in all factories for all types of work under this Act, and they may also be employed, with their written consent, before 6 am and beyond 7 pm, subject to such conditions relating to safety or any other condition as may be prescribed by the State Government.

The provisions of the Odisha Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1956, shall apply to such shops and commercial establishments in the state that engage 20 or more employees.

The work shift of an employee in an establishment shall not exceed six continuous hours without an interval for rest of at least half an hour, the senior official said, informing about the Cabinet decision taken in this regard.

It also proposed to increase in overtime work limit from 50 hours to 144 hours during a period of three months;

“Where an employee works in any establishment for more than 10 hours on any day or for more than 48 hours in any week, he shall, in respect of such overtime work, be entitled to double the ordinary rate of wages,” it further stated.

Establishments shall have the choice to remain open 24/7 in a day and 365 days a year.

These reforms shall reduce the compliance burden on small businesses and provide impetus to entrepreneurs, thus creating more economic activities while ensuring the welfare of employees. It shall also enhance employees’ earnings by allowing more overtime work and promote higher work participation opportunities for women in the organised sector and corporate sector, according to a statement issued by the government.

These reforms will attract new investments into the state, enable the factories to meet peak demand, and increase productivity. It will also help in enhancing workers’ earnings by allowing more overtime work.

The approved amendment proposals, as suggested in the Priority Areas of Deregulation Initiatives of the Cabinet Secretariat, the Government of India will create a conducive environment for rapid industrialisation in the State.