IT workers gather in large numbers to protest 14-hour workday proposal

A large number of IT and ITeS employees in the State, under the banner of Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU), assembled at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Saturday to protest the proposal to amend the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment Act. 

A large number of IT and ITeS employees in the State, under the banner of Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU), assembled at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Saturday to protest the proposal to amend the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment Act. 

Additional Labour Commissioner G. Manjunath who reached the protest venue received a memorandum from the KITU leadership. 

Suhas Adiga, General Secretary of the Union, stated that the proposed amendment is an attack on workers’ basic right to personal life. He urged the government to withdraw the proposal and warned that any move to proceed with the amendment would be met with strong resistance from IT and ITeS sector employees.  

As per the proposal which has been paused for now following backlash from IT workers, “An employee working in IT/ITeS/BPO sector may be required or allowed to work for more than 12 hours in a day and not exceeding 125 hours in three continuous months.”