Uttar Pradesh government withdraws order of 12-hour shift for industrial unit workers after notice from Allahabad HC
16 May, 2020 | newsx bureau
After Allahabad HC notice, the UP government has withdrawn the 12-hour shift order for industrial workers against an 8-hour shift.
The Uttar Pradesh government has withdrawn the order of 12-hour shift for industrial unit workers, against an 8-hour shift, after receiving an order from Allahabad high court. On May 8, UP government issued a notification 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.
According to the notification, all the factories were given clear instructions to employ the labourers and workers for 12 hours of shift, instead of 8 hours, under the act. Criticizing the same, UP Worker’s Front, through advocates Vinayal Mittal and Pranjal Shukla stated in the high court that the order violates the constitutional values. After analyzing the situation, Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Siddharth Varma and has issued a notice to the government.
The official statement revealed that the decision to exempt all the business from the range of almost all labour laws was taken as the commercial economic activities and business-related activities were badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. However, the increase in the working hours of industrial unit workers was done through separate executive order which has now been withdrawn.
Not just this, various trade unions have threatened all the BJP -ruled states like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, who have brought changes in the labour laws through ordinance route. Reports also reveal that this was a part of the strategy to attract investments from China after COVID-19 disruptions by taking the route of the ordinance.