Overview

• Lawmakers approved the Factories (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2025 by voice vote over objections from Congress and AAP.
• It raises the daily limit to 12 hours within a 48-hour week and requires a half-hour break after six hours of continuous work.
• Permissible overtime increases to 125 hours per three months, with double wages for work beyond 12 hours in a day or on paid holidays.
• Women may work between 7 pm and 6 am only with written consent under mandated safeguards including CCTV, female security staff and secure transport, and the shifts are not compulsory.
• The government says the changes support continuous industrial operations and can be rolled back if abused, while critics argue the consent model lacks real job protection and risks coercion and health harms.