The Gujarat assembly passed the Factories (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2025, amending the Factories Act 1948. This now extends industrial work timings to 12 hours a day, increasing them from 9 hours a day.
The new amendment also allows women to work night shifts between 7 PM and 6 AM, provided adequate safety measures are in place. A BJP-led majority vote passed the bill, though opposition parties, including Congress and AAP, protested extended shift timings.
As per Industries Minister Balvantsinh Rajput, the amendment was made to boost investment and industrial development in the state and create more economic activities and employment opportunities. He added that despite the extended work hours, the total number of working hours in a week will remain limited to 48 hours.
“The Bill allows the state government to increase the number of work hours from the existing nine hours to twelve hours, inclusive of rest intervals, on any day, subject to a maximum of 48 hours a week,” Rajput shared. “This will create more economic activities and employment opportunities.”
“This means that workers will get paid leave for the remaining three days if they work for 12 hours in four days and finish 48 hours of work,” added Rajput.
However, the increase in work hours has also invited criticism from the opposition. Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani claimed that the new shift timings are exploitative towards workers and are directly in contrast to the Gujarat government’s claims of empowering workers financially.
“Anyway, they are already working for 11 to 12 hours a day, as the nine-hour work shift rule is not followed. If you extend them to 12 hours, the workers will be forced to toil for 13 to 14 hours,” Mevani emphasised.
Mevani added that the extended work hours will likely also negatively impact the health of the workers, as workers will be deprived of sleep due to long hours.
“The state cannot progress by forcing poor workers, who are already malnourished, to work for 12 hours,” Mevani said. “The bill claims that factory owners will be required to obtain workers’ consent for increasing the working hours. Can a poor labourer turn down this demand? He will be immediately sacked by the owner for refusing to work for 12 hours. There are many alternatives to achieve economic progress, and this is certainly not the way.”
AAP’s Gopal Italia stated that the amendment will benefit the factory owners more than the workers.
“What was the emergency to bring an ordinance first?” asked Italia. “Did workers or unions approach you and demand that working hours be increased? Without the job protection clause, the consent clause had no meaning as workers would be fired if they refuse to work for 12 hours. There must be a concrete assurance that no one will lose their job.”
Botad MLA Umesh Makwana also voiced his dissatisfaction with the amendment, even tearing its copy in half. However, Minister Rajput remains firm on his stance and shared that he has alleviated the concerns of major trade and labour unions after introducing the ordinance in July.
“I told labour union leaders that they need not worry because provisions of this amendment are temporary. If we find that factory owners are not following norms and workers are subjected to injustice, this bill empowers us to withdraw the amendment,” shared Rajput.
