Apple and the company’s major supplier Foxconn pushed for the implementation of the landmark labour law changes in Karnataka. The two companies were successful in lobbying for the new labour code, which would see employees work up to 12 hours a day, reported the Financial Times citing sources familiar with the matter.
While India has emerged as a global leader in terms of tech services, the country’s manufacturing prowess remains far behind neighbouring countries like China, Taiwan and even Vietnam. The new labour laws will not only allow companies to run 12-hour shifts for round-the-clock production but also liberalises rules for the participation of women in the manufacturing sector. The new laws now permit women to not only work overtime but also work in night-shifts. The law also amended the permissible amount of overtime from 75 hours over three months to 145 hours over a three-month period.
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“Being able to run production with two 12-hour shifts around the clock would be a big step to bring us closer to where we need to be,” a person close to Foxconn told Financial Times.
The new laws are among the several ways, including the production-linked subsidy schemes that the Indian government is trying to attract investors and foreign companies with to shore up the country’s manufacturing sector. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ programme aims to put the sector’s GDP contribution to 25 percent by 2025. These plans have gotten a boost as global investors are looking away from China due to rising geopolitical tensions and international regulatory headaches when continuing to invest in the country.
While the new labour laws will be a cause for cheer for many companies, labour groups and activists have strongly criticised them. While the Factories (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2023, which passed without any debate in the Karnataka Assembly, keeps the weekly work hours limit at 48 hours, many have criticised the 12-hour workday.
“The law is meant to increase production. Let companies hire more people. With the interest of company owners in mind, this law has been brought. Women will have to wake up at 4 am to report for work at 6 am. Can a driver work for 12 hours and what happens to mental and physical faculties when they work for 12 hours in a day? It creates danger,” said BJP MLC and former MP Ayyanur Manjunath, who staged a walkout when the bill was passed by the Legislative Council last month.
“A human should not be treated like a machine. Even in the legislature, when we work for seven to eight hours, we get tired. Was the law studied by any experts? What are the labour laws in the G20 countries? Let there be a scientific study of the law and its consequences,” he added.
The legislation, which is similar to the four revamped labour codes formulated by the Centre that are yet to be implemented, will also fall foul of the International Labour Organization’s ‘C001 - Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919’. The convention, which India ratified in 1921 when it was under British rule, caps the daily work hour of any employee to eight hours a day.
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However, proponents of the new labour reforms say that it will help the state become more competitive in the manufacturing sector. “India is in competition with places all around the world to attract investments. Only when you have flexible labour laws, investments can be attracted. China is a manufacturing base today and is part of the global supply chain along with South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Japan,” Karnataka IT and BT Minister Dr CN Ashwathnarayan told the Legislative Council.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
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