Bhubaneswar: The Odisha State Cabinet has approved a proposal moved by the Department of Labor & ESI, clearing significant amendments to the Factories Act, 1948.
These changes are designed to improve the Ease of Doing Business in the state, aiming to attract industrial investment, spur job creation, and accelerate industrial development.
The State Government stated that the reforms are aligned with the Priority Areas of Deregulation Initiatives put forth by the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India.
The approved amendments grant the State Government greater flexibility to adjust working hours to help industries manage peak demand:
The government can now notify an extension of the daily maximum working hours up to 10 hours in any day, provided the weekly limit of 48 hours is maintained. This can be applied to all or specific classes of factories.
The total number of hours a worker can work without a mandatory rest interval has been extended to six hours for notified factories.
To enhance workers’ earnings and allow factories to meet production targets, the Cabinet approved the following changes to overtime rules:
The maximum limit for overtime work has been increased from 115 hours to 144 hours during any three-month period (quarter of a year).
The amendments reiterate that for any work exceeding the prescribed daily or weekly hours, workers are entitled to wages at twice their ordinary rate of wages.
The State Government is empowered to make rules for exemptions, provided the total daily work does not exceed 12 hours, the spread-over is limited to 13 hours, and the total weekly hours (including overtime) do not surpass 60 hours.
In a significant move toward gender equity, the Cabinet has amended provisions concerning women’s employment:
Women are now entitled to be employed in all factories for all types of work under the Act.
Women may be employed before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m., provided they give their written consent. This is subject to the factories adhering to prescribed conditions related to safety and other safeguards set by the State Government.
Senior officials are confident that these strategic reforms will create a conducive environment for rapid industrialization, enable factories to utilize their capacity efficiently, and directly benefit the workforce through enhanced overtime earnings. The move is expected to attract substantial new investment into the state.