Overview
- The labour department briefed the cabinet on five proposed changes to the Shops and Establishments Act, including lifting the daily cap to 10 hours, raising overtime to 144 hours per quarter, and allowing up to 12 total hours a day with a mandatory half-hour break if working beyond six hours.
- The proposal contemplates removing the 12-hour daily limit for urgent work and would apply the Act only to establishments with 20 or more employees, up from the current threshold of 10.
- Ministers requested further details and put a decision on hold, with officials stressing that all changes remain under consideration.
- Separately, the cabinet cleared draft Maharashtra Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2025 for central concurrence, enabling factory shifts up to 13 hours by written consent and permitting night work for women subject to safety measures.
- The factory draft raises the overtime ceiling from 115 to 175 hours over three months, and the state has invited objections and suggestions with responses due in the first week of September.