Karnataka IT Employees To Work 14 Hours A Day? New Bill Sparks Concerns

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New Delhi: The Karnataka government appears to be once again in the crosshairs after reportedly proposing an amendment to increase the working hours of IT employees, from 10 to 14 hours (12 hours + 2 hours of overtime. The plan to change the Act comes shortly after the state government put on hold the controversial job reservation bill, which wanted to give job quotas to locals in the private sector but faced opposition from the industry.

Amid a huge uproar over a bill that directed private firms in Karnataka to reserve jobs for Kannadigas, the proposal to amend the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment Act 1961 to enable a 14-hour workday in the 250 billion dollars industry was discussed during a meeting convened by the labour department with industry stakeholders. 

Notably, the Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU) members have already met with Labour Minister Santosh Lad to voice their concerns regarding this development. According to the present labour laws, 9 hours is the permitted working hour duration, while an additional hour is allowed as overtime.

According to KITU, the proposed change will let companies run with two shifts instead of three, leading to one-third of the workers losing their jobs. The union pointed to studies showing that longer working hours increase the risk of stroke, heart disease, and depression.

A KCCI report states that 45 per cent of IT workers are dealing with mental health issues like depression, and 55 per cent are facing physical health problems. Extending working hours will make this worse. A WHO-ILO study says longer working hours can lead to a 35 per cent higher risk of dying from a stroke and a 17 per cent higher risk of dying from heart disease, according to KITU.

Last year, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy caused a big debate by saying that India's work culture needs to change and young people should be ready to work 70 hours a week. His company, based in Bengaluru, is valued at RS 7,44,396.43 crore.