The Government of Karnataka has notified the Karnataka Factories (Karnataka Amendment) Act, 2023 (“2023 Amendment”) to introduce certain changes to the Factories Act, 1948 (“Act”) in its application in the State of Karnataka.
In continuation to what we reported earlier (please refer to e-mails in trail), please see below a detailed summary of the 2023 Amendment.
The 2023 Amendment seeks to achieve the following:
• allow the State Government to increase the number of hours of work from the existing nine hours up to twelve hours inclusive of rest intervals in any day subject to maximum of 48 hours in any week, to create more economic activities and employment opportunities;
• allow the State Government to extend the total number of hours of work by a worker without an interval to six hours to any group or class or description of factories to facilitate the increase in the daily maximum hours of work due to provisions of flexibility in working hours;
• allow the State Government to prescribe the hours of work in any day or in any week above which wages at the rate of twice the rate of ordinary in respect of overtime work is payable to worker in respect of overtime work;
• allow the factories to engage workers on overtime for an increased period of time in a quarter to deal with exceptional press of work;
• enable the employment of woman workers on overtime work, providing for equality and equal opportunity to work and earn, and also to enable employment of woman round the clock subject to the conditions to secure safety and health of the woman workers working in night shifts, upon obtaining written consent from the woman workers who are interested to work in night shifts.
Key Takeaways of the 2023 Amendment:
1. The State Government have been given the power to extend the daily maximum hours of work up to 12 hours inclusive of interval for rest in any day, subject to a maximum of forty eight hours in any week as specified in *Section 51, in respect of any group or class or description of factories on such conditions as it may deem expedient, subject to the written consent of such worker for such work, and the remaining days of the said week for the worker shall be paid holidays;
2. The State government has been given the power to extend the total number of hours of work of a worker without an interval to 6 hours in respect of any group or class or description of factories on such conditions as it may deem expedient due to the provision of flexibility in working hours as specified in *section 54 (2);
3. Where a worker works in any factory works:
(i) for more than nine hours in any day or for more than forty-eight hours in any week, working for six days in any week;
(ii)for more than ten hours in any day or for more than forty eight hours in any week, working for five days in any week;
(iii) for more than eleven and a half hours in any day working for four days in any week, or works on paid holidays -he shall in respect of overtime work, be entitled to wages at the rate of twice his ordinary rate of wages.
4. Additionally, specific conditions are proposed for engaging women employees during night shift (7:00 p.m. to 6:00 am) in factories:
Women may be required or allowed to work in any factory between the hours of 7:00 pm to 6:00 am subject to the following conditions:-
i. Prohibition of acts of sexual harassment:
• It is the duty of the employer or other responsible persons at the work places to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment and to provide the procedures for the resolution, statement or prosecutions of acts of sexual harassment by taking all steps required;
• Express prohibition of sexual harassment in any form such as unwelcome sexually determined behaviour either directly or by implication or advances or contact to gain contact or demand sexual favours or make sexually coloured remarks or showing pornography or any other unwelcome physical verbal or non-verbal contact of sexual nature
ii. Employer to provide appropriate working conditions:
• The employer has to provide appropriate working conditions in respect of works, leisure, health and hygiene to further ensure that there is no hostile environment towards women at workplaces and no woman employee should have reasonable grounds to believe that she is disadvantaged in connection with her employment.
iii. Complaint redressal mechanism:
• The employer has to maintain a complaint redressal mechanism in the factory itself and the said mechanism has ensure time-bound treatment of complaint. Such mechanism has to provide, when necessary a Complaint Committee, a special counsellor or other support services including the maintenance of confidentiality
• The female employees should be allowed to raise issues of sexual harassment to workers in the workers meeting and other appropriate forums
iv. Provide proper lighting and CCTV coverage:
• The employer needs to provide proper lighting and CCTV coverage not only inside the factory, but also surrounding of the factory and to all places where the female workers may move out of necessity in the course of work. CCTV forage shall be storage for not less than 45 days
v. Employment of women workers in batches of 10:
• The employer is required to ensure that women workers are employed in a batch not less than 10;
vi. Rest rooms and security:
• Sufficient women security has to be provided during the night shift at the entry as well as exit point;
• Sufficient number of rest rooms have to be provided for the female workers to arrive in advance and also leave after the working hours;
• The employer has to provide transportation facility to the women workers from their residence and back (for night shift) and security guards (including female security guard) and each transportation vehicle shall also be equipped with CCTV camera and GPS;
• During night shift not less than 1/3rd of strength of the supervisor shift-in-charge or foreman or other supervisory staff have to be women;
• There shall be not less than 12 consecutive hours of rest or gap between the last shifts and the night shift wherever a women worker is changed from day shift to night shift and so also from night shift to day shift;
• The establishment has to obtain Bio-data of each driver and conduct pre-employment screening of the antecedents of all drivers employed on their own. As regards the driver employed through outsourcing, the company shall ensure to its satisfaction that the collection of Bio-data and conduct preemployment screening of the antecedents of the drivers is carried out by the service provider;
• The establishment has to obtain Bio-data of each driver and conduct pre-employment screening of the antecedents of all drivers employed on their own. As regards the driver employed through outsourcing, the company shall ensure to its satisfaction that the collection of Bio-data and conduct pre-employment screening of the antecedents of the drivers is carried out by the service provider;
• Careful selection of routes has to be made in such a way that no women employees shall be picked up first and dropped last
• Employers are required to ensure that they do not make it compulsory or obligatory for any women worker to work in night shifts. Written consent has to be obtained from the women workers who are interested to work in night shifts;
• There shall be no change of shifts except after a weekly holiday or any other holiday.
Source: Government of Karnataka
