Delhi govt directs Labour dept to amend rules to allow women work night shifts with consent

The Delhi government has directed the Labour Department to make necessary changes to allow women to work in night shifts with their consent, officials at Raj Niwas stated on Tuesday.

Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena, along with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, chaired a high-level meeting on Tuesday to review the status and progress of the flagship schemes, 'Ease of Doing Business' and 'Maximum Governance - Minimum Government', introduced by PM Modi.

Amendment of labour laws

According to officials, the previous Delhi government gave its nod to do away with section 66(1)(b) of the Factories Act of 1948, which states that no woman shall be required or allowed to work in any factory except between the hours of 6 am and 7 pm.

The government also approved the draft of the Delhi Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2023, allowing women workers to do night shifts. However, these provisions were never implemented.

Restrictive and archaic laws, processes and regulatory regimes had slowed down businesses and economic activities, Saxena noted.

Saxena and Gupta said that progress during the last 11 years was "far from satisfactory".

Challenges in doing business have led to a situation wherein industries and businesses have shifted to other states at the cost of Delhi, Gupta said.

The Labour Department was directed to amend the Delhi Shops and Establishment Act by issuing suitable notifications under the Factories Act, to allow women employees to work in night shifts with consent.

The department was also directed to modify the Delhi Shops and Establishment Act to increase the minimum number of employees from one to 10 for applicability of the Act and to allow shops/establishments to work 24x7.

Directions were also issued to increase the threshold of workers from 100 to 200 in the Industrial Dispute Act for seeking permission for closure, the official added.

The Information Technology Department was instructed to make a single-window portal for all NOCs.

It was decided that the implementation of these directions will be reviewed regularly by the LG or the chief minister and should be completed within six months, the official said.

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