Bengaluru: Karnataka labour minister Santosh Lad on Monday said the IT industries had demanded to extend working hours and the government will take a decision after seeking opinion of the employees.
Speaking at the Vidhana Soudha on Monday, the minister said, "There has been a demand from the IT industries to extend the working hours. We will seek opinion of the IT employees and all stakeholders before deciding anything. Some are in favour of the proposal while some are against it. Finally, the government has to take a decision."
The IT firms in Karnataka have submitted a proposal to the state government to extend the working hours. Following which, the state government has proposed to amend the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, to extend the working hours of employees to over 12 hours a day.
According to the proposed amendment, an employee in the IT/ITeS/BPO sector may be required or allowed to work more than 12 hours a day and not exceed 125 hours in three continuous months. The existing act allows a maximum of 10 hours of work per day, including overtime (OT) duty.
The IT companies have requested the government to extend the working hours from 10 hours a day to 12 hours along with two hours of overtime taking the overall duty hours to 14 hours a day. A request has been submitted to the government to amend the current Act in this regard.
Labour minister held a meeting in this regard last Friday. Principal secretary of labour department Mohammad Mohisin, principal secretary of IT-BT and information technology department Ekroop Caur and labour department officials participated in the meeting.
The IT unions have opposed the proposal to extend working hours, apprehending that it would lead to mental stress and health problems.
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