Uttar Pradesh Govt Withdraws Order Of 12-Hr Shift For Industrial Unit Workers After Notice From Allahabad HC

The Uttar Pradesh government has withdrawn its order directing 12-hour shift for industrial unit workers, against an earlier 8-hour shift, after the Allahabad high court issued a notice to the government.

On May 8, the UP government passed an ordinance relaxing all the provisions related to overtime, intervals for rest, and working hours, as demanded under section 51, 52, 56 and 59 of the Factory Act till July 19, 2020.

As per the ordinance, all factories were given clear instructions to engage the workers for 12 hours of shift, instead of 8 hours. Criticizing this move, UP Worker's Front claimed that the order violates the constitutional values.

After analyzing the claims, Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Siddharth Varma issued a notice to the government, following which the state government withdrew its order.

The official statement revealed that the decision to exempt all the business from almost all labour laws was taken to restart economic activities and business that were badly affected due the COVID-19 lockdown. However, the increase in the working hours of industrial unit workers was brought in through a separate executive order which has now been revoked.

Various trade unions have threatened all several states which include Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, who have made amendments to the labour laws through various ordinances.

Several reports also claim that the move was a strategy to attract investments from China amid the outbreak of COVID-19.

Earlier, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced on May 7 that the state government will exempt new factories from almost all labour laws except for a few provisions in the Factories Act, 1948 for the next 1,000 days.

Later, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also diluted the labour laws of the state to revive the economic activities. Other states like Rajasthan Punjab and Himachal Pradesh also followed suit and raised the working hours from 8 to 12 hours per day.

In a major jolt to the migrant workers and labourers in Uttar Pradesh, the state government has passed an ordinance that suspends labour laws for a period of three years, a step claimed to help revive the state's economy amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The decision was taken in a meeting convened by CM Yogi Adityanath where UP cabinet approved the 'Uttar Pradesh Temporary Exemption from Certain Labour Laws Ordinance, 2020' which temporarily scraps all labour laws in the state, except three, which include abolishment of bonded labour, ex gratia to workers in case of work-related diseases and disabilities and timely wage payments.

All labour laws related to labour unions, settling work disputes, regulations for working conditions, contracts, among others shall be suspended for three years in the state under this ordinance.

This includes, The Minimum Wages Act, The Maternity Benefit Act, The Equal Remuneration Act, The Trade Unions Act, The Industrial Employment Act, The Industrial Disputes Act, The Factories Act. The ordinance includes all the existing industries, manufacturing units and even the new ones that are likely to come up in a few years.

Also Read: In The Garb Of 'Reviving Economy', UP Govt Scraps Labour Laws For 3 Years