Latest news with #SantoshLad
News18
10 hours ago
- Business
- News18
12-Hour Workday In Bengaluru Soon? What We Know So Far
Last Updated: The Karnataka government proposes revising work norms to allow 12-hour workdays, sparking opposition from IT/ITeS employee unions. The plan includes a 48-hour weekly cap. The Karnataka government has stirred debate with its proposal to revise working hour norms, potentially allowing private firms to implement 12-hour workdays, including overtime. The move has sparked strong opposition from employee unions, particularly in the IT/ITeS sector. While the government has clarified that the weekly work limit will remain capped at 48 hours, the plan to increase the daily limit from 9 to 10 hours — plus possible overtime — has raised concerns about employee well-being, work-life balance, and job exploitation. What Is the Proposal? The Karnataka government has proposed to amend the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961, to increase daily working hours from nine to 10 hours in the state, and to allow up to 12 hours of work a day with overtime. The proposal, if approved, would also raise the quarterly overtime limit from 50 to 144 hours, according to The Hindu. The draft amendments, circulated by Karnataka's labour department to stakeholders, reportedly were aimed at aligning state regulations with directions from the Union government. It had asked all states to consider increasing working hour limits. What Do IT Employee Unions Say? The proposal has triggered strong resistance from IT employees' associations. The union representatives argue that such long workdays will increase stress, lower productivity, and violate the spirit of employee rights. Bengaluru, the country's biggest IT hub, is situated in Karnataka. The Karnataka State IT/ ITeS Employees Union on Wednesday strongly opposed the proposal and called upon 'the entire working class to come in resistance against the Karnataka government move to increase the working hours in IT/ITES/BPO sector to 12 hours a day." In a statement, the KITU said, 'The proposed amendment to the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act attempts to normalise a 12-hour work day. The existing Act only allows a maximum of 10 hours work per day, including overtime." It said the 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 through out from their employment. The KITU said, 'The proposal to amend the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment Act to facilitate 12-hour working day is presented in a meeting called by the labour department on June 18, with various stakeholders in the industry." What Government Says Labour Minister Santosh Lad on June 19 issued a detailed statement explaining the government's intent behind the proposed amendment. In his clarification, Santosh Lad assured that the weekly 48-hour cap remains unchanged, and the proposal complies with International Labour Organization (ILO) standards and domestic labour laws. 'There is no violation of any international convention or standard," he stated. 'The 10-hour period is inclusive of a one-hour rest interval, meaning the active working time per day would remain 9 hours," he said. Currently, as per the current law under Section 7 of the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961, the daily work limit is 9 hours, including a 1-hour break. However, with the proposed additional one hour a day, employees will get to choose five working days instead of six. He also said the proposal is currently under consultation, with stakeholder meetings already held, and no final decision has been made yet. 'The government of Karnataka is committed to the welfare of its entire workforce. We are in active dialogue with all stakeholders to ensure the final decision is holistic, balanced, and beneficial for all," he added. The labour department defended these proposals saying that the Union government has already 'directed" states to amend working hours limits. The department also said similar decision has been taken by Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand also, according to Deccan Herald. Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: June 21, 2025, 14:20 IST News business 12-Hour Workday In Bengaluru Soon? What We Know So Far
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Proposal on increasing work hours in Karnataka likely to be referred to Cabinet
The proposal by the Karnataka government to increase work hours from nine to 10 hours daily and also allow increased overtime work is likely to be referred to the Cabinet before any decision is taken. This comes amid opposition from the Joint Committee of Trade Unions (JCTU) that represents eight trade unions in the State and the Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union to the move. Based on a direction from the Centre that has asked the States to simplify the Act and rules that govern the working hours, the Labour Department circulated a draft copy of the Bill to amend the Karnataka Shops and Establishments Act, 1961, seeking to increase daily working hours and also increase the cap on overtime work. IT and ITeS companies, offices, pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, and malls, among many others that offer commercial services, come under the purview of the Act. Even as Labour Secretary Rohini Sindhuri on Wednesday met stakeholders where opinions in favour of and against the proposed amendment were received from employers' organisations and trade unions, Labour Minister Santosh Lad told The Hindu that there would be more consultation on the issue. One more meeting 'The discussions started after Manoj Joshi (Secretary, Union Department of Land Resources) gave a presentation to the Chief Secretary to increase work hours to 10 hours and on ease of doing business,' the Minister said. 'We had called a meeting to elicit opinion on the proposal. We will also apply our minds. We will once again call the stakeholders' meeting.' Indicating that the matter could go to Cabinet, Mr. Lad said, 'We will take a call after seeking concurrence of the Chief Minister and all Cabinet colleagues. No decision has been made yet. Any decision, which will be taken, will be helpful to the working class.' The changes in labour laws that have been moved by the Centre and implemented already in some BJP-governed States are being discussed in Karnataka. The State has also set up a task force following a meeting on 'Compliance reduction and deregulation' being pushed by the Centre, to implement suggestions. Apart from suggesting an increase in daily work hours to 10 from the current nine hours, the proposed amendment to the Act seeks to allow an increase in daily overtime work from one hour to two hours, allow an increase in overtime hours in three continuous months from 50 hours to 144 hours. Unions oppose Meanwhile, the Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union termed the proposal to facilitate 12 hours work a day (including two hours overtime) as 'modern-day slavery'. The union, whose representatives attended the meeting on Wednesday, said the amendment would allow the companies to go for a two-shift system instead of the existing three shifts. The JCTU, in its memorandum, seeking an immediate withdrawal of the proposal, said, 'After similar reforms in Gujarat, registered establishments showed a decline by 18%. Karnataka already has 32% graduate unemployment (AISHE 2023). Gender discrimination can increase since 78% of Karnataka's retail workforce is women and can create a hostile environment for working women.' The economic fallout and employment crisis will aggravate and could lead to compression of workforce by about 30%, it feared, adding that it would increase unemployment among youth in Karnataka. 'The proposal violates the State's own Labour Policy 2020 that guarantees eight-hour work culture,' the memorandum stated. In May, based on the Union government's directive, the State government had moved to change the shift hours under the Factories Act for workers. This move also received backlash from unions, following which the State government put the changes on the backburner.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Dharwad Dist Hosp gets chemotherapy centre
Dharwad: Labour minister Santosh Lad inaugurated Day Care Chemotherapy Centre at Dharwad District Hospital on Monday evening. The chemotherapy centre has been set up in association with HCG Hospital, Hubballi, under AB-ArK (Ayushman Bharat-Arogya Karnataka) scheme, he said. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now For every patient who has undergone the 1st cycle of treatment, the next cycle will be treated as per the advice of an oncologist. Every Wednesday, the patients will be examined by a cancer specialist at the hospital. Getting treatment here will benefit the patients from distant places, Lad said. A total of 242 patients have been sent for cancer treatment from the hospital in 2024-2025. District surgeon Dr Sangappa Gabi, resident medical officer Dr Girijatai GH, senior specialists Dr Mayura Kadam and Dr SM Sambrani, nursing superintendent Vijayakumar Malagi, office superintendent VH Banasode and other staff were present.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Detailed project report for ERT project in twin cities to be submitted in two months
HESS India, which has signed an MoU with the State government for introducing Electric Rapid Transit (ERT) between Hubballi and Dharwad, will submit a detailed project report (DPR) at its own expense in another two months, Labour Minister and district in-charge Santosh Lad has said. Speaking at a meeting of stakeholders in Dharwad on Monday, Mr. Lad said that ERT has been proposed as a solution to the problems being faced because of the existing BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System). HESS India will be making modifications in its plan by incorporating the suggestions from elected representatives, local officials and the general public and then finalise the DPR. The Minister clarified that it is a project on Public-Private Partnership model and the DPR will be prepared by HESS India spending its own resources. 'Already, an MoU has been signed between the State government and the company on finalising and submitting the DPR in three months. Already, a month has passed and the first round of meeting of stakeholders has been held to get suggestions. Some of them have already been incorporated and others will be incorporated to redress the problems,' he said. Making a power point presentation on ERT project between the twin cities, officials from HESS India Praveen Kumar and Srinivas Chakravarthy spoke about the modified plan between UAS Dharwad and Hubballi Railway Station. They said that there will be an elevated path of 14 km and the remaining 10 km will be at grade with the existing road. In addition, there will be underpasses of around 2 km, they said and added that once the project is implemented, 75% of the existing BRTS corridor will be available for mixed traffic. After getting details about the project, some of the stakeholders raised issues that are being faced in the existing BRTS corridor and wanted the company officials to keep them in mind while finalising the DPR. The stakeholders raised the issue of waterlogging, problems at junctions like JSS College, Jubilee Circle, Navalur, Kittur Chennamma Circle and other points. Some of them pointed out that a rosy picture was given during a similar meeting while implementing BRTS and they did not want the ERT project to end up in the same fashion. As more number of people raised BRTS problems instead of giving suggestions on ERT project, Mr. Lad lost his cool at one point and appealed to the participants to come up with constructive suggestions to redress the existing problems rather than just complaining. Residents of Navalur raised a valid point on the existing problems because of the flyover on the BRTS corridor and wanted the officials to address the issue while designing the ERT project. Giving his suggestions, Hubballi-Dharwad West MLA Arvind Bellad emphasised on the need for avoiding flyovers at junctions as it will kill local trade and business. He also underscored the need for addressing the issue of waterlogging. Hubballi-Dharwad Central MLA Mahesh Tenginakai sought to know whether mixed traffic can be totally avoided on the ERT corridor and whether an elevated path can be extended to bypass traffic junctions. Replying to the queries raised by the participants, the company officials clarified that the elevated path will facilitate more space for mixed traffic and as a 25-m-long and 250-passenger capacity e-vehicles will be deployed, emission will be zero. They also clarified that with ERT the speed of the vehicles on the mixed traffic lanes will also decrease as the number of signals will come down drastically. Mr. Lad told the stakeholders that there will be a few more consultations before the final DPR is got ready. The authorities will incorporate suggestions given by them, he added. MLC Saleem Ahmed, Deputy Commissioner Divya Prabhu G.R.J., NWKRTC Managing Director Priyanga M., HD-BRTS Managing Director Savitri Kadi, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Bhuvanesh Patil, Superintendent of Police Gopal Byakod, Deputy Commissioner of Police Raveesh C.R., President of Karnatak Vidyavardhak Sangha Chandrakanth Bellad and representatives of various organisations were present.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Climate
- Time of India
Lad visits family of rainfall victim, hands compensation
Hubballi/Belagavi: Labour and district minister Santosh Lad visited the house of Hussainsab Kalas, a resident of Old Hubballi, who lost his life during a recent rainfall, and expressed his condolences to the family on Saturday. Due to heavy rainfall on Wednesday late night, Kalas was washed away in a drain. The body of the deceased was found on Friday. At the same time, Lad distributed a copy of the govt's compensation order of Rs 5 lakh to the family. Speaking to reporters, Lad said that the district received around 60mm of rain in a single day. "People suffered during the torrential rainfall. The accident occurred due to being washed away in the rainwater. Such incidents should not be repeated. Therefore, I have instructed to close the drains wherever they are open. Around 120 houses were damaged in the district. Two people died in the district due to rain. Compensation will be provided for the damaged houses as per the govt order," he said. Lad said that a DPR was prepared for Bennihalla and Tuparihalla project. The govt has released Rs 200 crore to implement permanent solutions. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo The tender for the project is in its final stage, and work will commence after the monsoon ends, the minister said. MLA NH Konaraddi, additional deputy commissioner Geeta CD, and others were present. Rain wreaks havoc in many parts of Belagavi district Heavy rainfall in the past 24 hours disrupted normal life in many parts of Belagavi district, especially Khanapur and Bailhongal. Hundreds of trees and electricity poles fell due to gusty winds, with rain disturbing the routine life of the public. The weather in Belagavi district remained cloudy on Saturday, with rainfall across the district, including Khanapur in the Western Ghats region. Most parts of the district, including Bailhongal, Savadatti, Kittur, Belagavi, Hukkeri, Sankeshwar, Nippani, Chikodi, Raibag, Athani, Gokak, and Mudalagi, received intermittent rain since Saturday morning. Water level in the rivers rose, and lakes, ponds, and wells filled up. Water entered homes in low-lying areas in cities and towns of the district. Traffic was also disrupted in many places, including Yaragati, Gokak, Nippani and Athani. Rainwater entered several houses in Bailhongal, causing havoc and disrupting people's lives. Taluk administration and local administrations launched operations to rescue people affected by water intrusion into their homes. As per the forecast, heavy rain is expected across the district from Sunday, and the district administration has issued instructions to take precautionary measures. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
