Report by Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) correspondent
In response to the demands of IT companies, the Karnataka state government has proposed to increase the daily working hours of IT workers to 14 hours.
The existing Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act allows work days of 10 hours. The Labour Minister has stated that IT industries are pressurizing the state government to amend this Act to legalize 14-hour work days. Notably, Karnataka is a major technology hub, with several multinational companies and more than 20 lakh IT workers.
The Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU) has strongly opposed this demand of IT companies. The union has pointed out that a 14-hour work day will severely affect workers’ health. It will also enable companies to fire thousands of workers and multiply their profits. KITU General Secretary Suhas Adiga said, “This amendment will allow the companies to go for a two-shift system instead of the currently existing three-shift system, and one-third of the workforce will be thrown out of their employment.”
KITU has been organizing demonstrations and has also launched a mass email campaign opposing the proposed amendment. A protesting IT worker said, “We sometimes have to work on weekends as well and are not compensated for the extra hours of work we put in. So, if the government increases working time to 12 or 14 hours per day, it means the actual time we might have to put in at work will be more than the said hours.”
In June, the Karnataka government once again exempted IT workers from the Industrial Standing Orders Act 1946. The act protects workers from extended working hours, arbitrary layoffs, sexual harassment, etc. Exemption from this act deprives IT workers of their basic rights.
This exemption and the proposed 14-hour work day are huge attacks on a large section of workers. Workers of all sectors should unitedly oppose these attacks!