New Delhi: The Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU) said that the state government is planning to increase IT employees’ workhours to 14 a day in ‘biggest ever attack on working class in this era’, NDTV reported.
At a meeting of stakeholders called by the labour department, the proposal to amend the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment Act was presented to introduce the change, according to the Union.
Implementing the extended working time -- 70 hours a week – will hugely impact the IT hub of the country, where thousands work. Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah administration remains silent on this matter.
The employees union KITU said in a statement: ‘The proposed new bill 'Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Bill 2024' attempts to normalize a 14-hour work day. The existing act only allows a maximum of 10 hours of work per day including overtime, which has been completely lifted in the current amendment. It will facilitate the IT/ITES companies to extend the daily hours of work indefinitely.’
The KITU alleged that the amendment is the ‘biggest ever attack on the working class in this era’, adding that it will pave the way for companies implementing two-shift systems against the current three-shift system.This according to the union will throw out one third of workforce.
The meeting, where the proposal was made, was attended by Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh S Lad and the officials from the departments of Labour and Information Technology and Biotechnology, according to the report.
The health impact of extended work hours on IT employees was pointed out at the meeting, KITU reportedly said.
‘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. WHO-ILO study says 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,’ KITU reportedly said.
The union pointed out that the bill comes at a time when the world starts to rethink about the extended work hours as they are negatively impacting productivity, adding that ‘more countries are coming with new legislations to accept the right to disconnect as a basic right of any employee.’
Urging the government to rethink about the proposal, the Union warned that any move to implement the bill will be an ‘open challenge’ to the 20 lakh IT employees in the state.
Alongside, the Union asked the IT employees to unify and resist what it said: "inhuman attempt to impose slavery on us".
It all started earlier last year when Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy said India’s work culture should change, suggesting that youngsters should work for 70 hours a week.