UP Govt Revokes Order on 12-Hour Shifts After Allahabad HC Notice

Workers unload cement bags from a truck near a construction site in New Delhi, India. Image used for representation.

(Photo: Reuters)

The Uttar Pradesh government has withdrawn its controversial order of 12-hour shifts for workers in industrial units, against the usual 8-hour day, after a notice from the Allahabad High Court.

However, the state government’s recently issued ordinance to exempt establishments in the state from all labour laws but four remains unchanged.

The Chief Secretary to the State informed that the notification, issued on 8 May, stood withdrawn through an order dated 15 May. As per the notification, factories had been permitted to employ labourers for up to 12 hours a day instead of eight.

In Uttar Pradesh, key labour laws have been suspended for three years. An increase in working hours in industrial units was through a separate executive order which now stands withdrawn.

According to LiveLaw, the matter, brought before the Allahabad High Court by UP Workers Front, was heard by a bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Siddhart Verma. The bench issued notice to the government and posted the matter for consideration on 18 May.

On 13 May, ‘Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh,’ an RSS-backed labour organisation decided on a nationwide agitation in solidarity with the fight against the anti-worker law reforms of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, among other labour issues.