"It will also enhance employees’ earnings by allowing more overtime work and promote higher work participation opportunities for women in the organised sector and corporate sector,” Chief Minister Mohan Majhi said after the Cabinet meeting. (File image)Increasing the permissible working hours, allowing women employees to work night shifts, and giving establishments the choice to operate 24×7 throughout the year — these are among the changes being brought by the Odisha government in its effort to boost ease of doing business and create more employment opportunities in the state. The Odisha Cabinet on Monday approved proposals to amend the Orissa Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1956, and the Factories Act to allow these provisions. After the changes, any commercial or business establishment employing over 20 employees can operate day and night without having to seek special permission, while the daily permissible working hours for employees have been increased from 9 to 10 hours, with a 30-minute break.