The Karnataka government has proposed an amendment to the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, aiming to increase the working hours of IT employees to over 12 hours a day. The move has sparked fierce resistance from IT employee unions, who argue that it would severely impact work-life balance and employees' health.

The proposal to amend the Act was presented during a meeting called by the state Labour Department, helmed by Labour Minister Santhosh Lad on Friday, July 19, with various stakeholders in the industry, including representatives of employee unions and management of IT companies. 

What does the amendment say? 

According to the proposed amendment, “An employee working in the IT/ ITeS/BPO sector may be required or allowed to work for more than 12 hours in a day and not exceeding 125 [extra] hours in three continuous months.”  The existing Act only allows a maximum of 10 hours work per day including overtime. 

Reacting to this proposal, Sooraj Nidiyanga, secretary of Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU) argued that the amendment does not talk about any limit to the maximum working hours of an employee per day. Speaking to TNM, Sooraj said that, although there is a maximum limit of 125 extra hours over three months, the companies can ask employees to work for any amount of hours exceeding 12 hours in a day. “They can do this for a week, or even a month, as long as it does not exceed 125 hours in three months,” he said. 

During the meeting with the Labour Department, representatives of the various unions also argued that this move could also potentially lead to a two-shift system resulting in one-third of the workforce losing their jobs. This means that if there were three shifts previously with each shift of eight hours duration each, with the 12-hour shift coming in, employees in one shift can be disposed of. 

Ironically, in January this year, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said that his government is considering rolling back a law passed by the previous BJP government that allowed industries to extend working hours for labourers up to 12 hours a day. It was in February 2023 that the BJP government amended the Factories Act of 1948 with this aim. 

Impact on workers’ well-being

IT employee unions including KITU have strongly opposed the move, citing studies that highlight the adverse health impacts of extended working hours. They highlighted a report by the Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), which found that 45% of IT employees working long hours face mental health issues like depression, while 55% experience physical health problems. 

They also pointed to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report, which said that increased working hours will lead to an estimated 35% higher risk of death by stroke and 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease.

“The Karnataka government, in their hunger to please their corporate bosses, completely neglects the most fundamental right of any individual — the right to live. 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 intended to increase the profit of the corporations that it serves,” said Suhas Adiga, General Secretary of KITU. 

Meanwhile, TNM has also learnt that the Labour Ministry will call for a larger meeting in the coming days to discuss the amendment in detail.