Overview

• The cabinet approved amendments to the Factories Act and the state Shops and Establishments law to raise the daily cap for private employees from nine to 10 hours.
• Industrial units may run shifts up to 12 hours with a rest break after six hours, contingent on written consent from workers.
• The legal overtime ceiling increases to 144 hours per quarter—up from 115 in factories and 125 in shops—with officials citing double pay for overtime.
• The labour department says employers may roster up to 60 hours a week within the new framework, with time beyond nine hours a day or 48 hours a week counted as overtime.
• The changes cover establishments with 20 or more workers, and the state plans to replace registration for smaller units with a simple intimation via an ordinance to be issued.