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Bihar to increase working hours in industrial units to 12 hours from 8, order likely on Monday
Bihar government joins states that have announced an increase in working hours to counter the economic slump due to coronavirus outbreak.
Bihar government has decided to extend the working hours from 8 hours to 12 hours in industrial institutions and offer some more relaxations in the provisions of the factories act to achieve higher productivity and attract more investments in the state following a graded easing of the lockdown to counter the slump in economic activities.
The labour department is likely to issue an order in this regard on Monday. Bihar labour resources minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said the changes were in accordance with the guidelines issued by the centre.
“We are also going to relax some more provisions in the factories act (1948) to make it more flexible to attract investment in the state in the coming months and to generate employment. We have taken the decisions as per the guidelines issued by the central government. Our objective is to enhance productivity and also safeguard the interest of workers,” he said.
Asked whether the new working hours will also apply to the people employed in retail shops, the minister said the ambit of the order might increase after weighing the situation in the coming weeks. “Once the situation eases a bit, we will be able to take a decision depending on the requirement. The ambit of relaxations might increase,” he said.
Punjab government has already extended the daily working hours in factories from nine to 12, while Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have amended labour laws to boost industrial activity and attract big-ticket investments.
Deputy chief minister cum finance minister Sushil Kumar Modi told HT that several states have extended the working hours and the state government was studying the relaxations given by other states in relation to labour laws.
Also Read: Some states put freeze on labour laws to get business going
Authoritative sources said the state government’s labour and industries department has held wide-ranging discussions on the relaxations in labour laws and the factories act in the last few days to evolve a strategy for the optimum utilisation of labour, and also to attract more investment in the state given the rise of unemployment after the recent reverse migration of labour to Bihar during the lockdown following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.
‘‘A few incentives would be given to industrial units for enhancing productivity,” said a senior officer in the industry department.
The state government has already kick-started commercial activity following the relaxations offered by the central government.
As per official figures, 671 food processing units, 95 rubber and plastic units, 678 general services units and 408 industrial units under BIADA (Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority) have been working since permission for the resumption of industrial activities was granted. In Bihar, there are 2,800 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) while four are large industries including cement factories.
Sources said a total of 32,000 workers are working in various industrial units.
“The industry department will follow the order issued on any labour-related issues,” said, Shyam Rajak, Bihar industry minister.
