According to sources, IT businesses in Karnataka submitted a request to the state government seeking that employee working hours be extended to 14 hours. Employees have strongly opposed the proposal, calling it inhumane and raising health and layoff worries. Continue reading to know more about the proposal.
Karnataka IT Firms Proposes For 14-Hour Workday
According to the news, the state government could be revising the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act of 1961. The IT businesses wish their proposal included in the amendment. This would legally increase work hours to 14 hours (12 hours plus 2 hours of overtime). According to current labor rules, the authorized working hour duration is 9 hours, with one extra hour allowed as overtime.
According to the IT industry’s latest proposal, “employees in the IT/ITeS/BPO sector may be required or allowed to work more than 12 hours per day and not exceed 125 hours in three consecutive months.”
The government has conducted an initial discussion on the subject. Further decisions will be made shortly, according to sources. The idea is expected to be addressed by the Cabinet.
Employees Get Furious
The Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU), on the other hand, strongly opposed the idea. They claimed that reducing the number of working shifts would result in one-third of the workforce losing their jobs. According to the union, this modification will allow employers to switch to a two-shift system rather than the current three-shift arrangement, resulting in the layoff of one-third of the workers. The organization also cited research on the health effects of increased working hours among IT personnel.
“As per the report of KCCI, 45% of employees in the IT sector are facing mental health issues such as depression, and 55% facing physical health impacts. Increasing working hours will further aggravate this situation,” the union stated.
The employees’ union claimed that the state seemed to perceive employees as just machines rather than human beings. It asked the Siddaramaiah administration to rethink and not accept the IT corporations’ demands.
“This amendment shows that the government of Karnataka is not ready to consider workers as human beings who need personal and social life to survive. Instead, it considers them as only machinery to increase the profit of the corporates whom it serves,” the statement mentioned.
Well, similar incidents have happened in the past. Previously, the co-founder of Infosys Sudha Narayana Murthy stated that employees should work 70 hours a week. The dispute between overworking and relaxing continues. What do you think about this? Does lack of work amount to mental peace?
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