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

Unions express concerns over Karnataka's draft occupational safety rules, particularly regarding factory definitions and extended work hours.

The draft rules for the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, published by the Karnataka government on January 27, have capped the daily working hours at 10.5 hours, stipulating that a worker cannot be made to work more than 48 hours in a week.

It further notes that the working day can be extended up to 12 hours for certain factories or categories of workers, if notified by the State Government. 

This appears to be in the same vein as the proposed amendment to the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment Act, 1961, in June, 2025. The proposal then suggested increasing the daily working hours to 10 from the current nine hours, and to cap the total number of work hours at 12 a day, including overtime, inviting severe criticisms from trade unions.  

According to the rules, in case of overtime, the worker shall be eligible for compensation, which is twice his ordinary rate of wages.  

While the draft rules limit overtime to a maximum of 144 hours in a quarter, this figure is almost thrice the existing limit. As per the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961, the total overtime worked must not exceed 50 hours in any continuous three-month period.  

The Code subsumes 13 Acts including Factories Act 1948, Mines Act, 1952, and Interstate Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, among others.