Unions raise concerns about overtime, definition of factory in draft code published by Karnataka government

While the draft rules limit overtime to a maximum of 144 hours in a quarter, this figure is almost thrice the existing limit. Definition of factoryThe Code subsumes 13 Acts including Factories Act 1948, Mines Act, 1952, and Interstate Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, among others. Satyanand Mukund, State secretary of the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), raised concerns regarding the definition of factory in the Code. That will encourage outsourcing of work from bigger factories to smaller factories, where the question of overtime payment will not arise. Hazardous workAccording to Ms. Gaikwad, while the draft rules retain detailed safety provisions, they rely increasingly on audit-based mechanisms and internal compliance systems.