Mumbai, Sep 3 (IANS) The Maharashtra cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Wednesday approved amendments to the Factories Act, 1948 and the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act, 2017, to attract investment and increase employment opportunities.

The amendments to the Factories Act, 1948, were approved as per the recommendations of a task force constituted by the Central Government. These changes have been made to attract investment and increase employment opportunities in the state. States like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Tripura have already made these changes.

“These amendments will enable industries to continue operating without any disruption during peak demand or labour shortages. Workers will legally get additional income with proper wage protection. By increasing the legal overtime limit, workers will be protected from being asked to work extra hours without pay. Now, the practice of forcing workers to work without paying overtime will be curbed,” said the government in a statement.

This change will promote employment generation and protect labour rights. Making provisions for working hours as per the provisions of other states will help attract new investments. By increasing the overtime work period, workers will also get paid at double the rate of wages, added the government.

“The amendment to Section 65 of the Factories Act, 1948, will increase the daily working hours in factories from 9 hours to 12 hours. The amendment to Section 55 has proposed an increase in the rest period in factories has been proposed 30 minutes after six hours of work instead of the present five hours and thirty minutes. The amendment to Section 65 will increase the limit of overtime work from 115 hours per quarter to 144 hours per quarter. It also contains a strict provision that it will be necessary to obtain the written consent of the workers for such overtime work,” said the government statement.

Further, the cabinet also approved amendments to the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017. These amendments will be applicable to establishments with 20 or more workers.

According to these amendments, the daily working hours will be increased from 9 to 10, change the rest period accordingly, increase the duty schedule of employees assigned to urgent work from 10 and a half hours to 12 hours and increase the period of overtime work from 125 hours to 144 hours.

With these amendments, establishments with less than 20 employees will not be required to obtain a registration certificate. However, it will only be necessary to inform about starting a business through notification letters, stated the government statement.

–IANS

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