Mumbai: Maharashtra is preparing sweeping amendments to the Factories Act, 1948, to permit factory workers clock up to 13 hours a day and allow women to work night shifts.
The cabinet on Tuesday approved forwarding the draft Maharashtra Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2025 to the Centre for concurrence. The rules include provisions for women’s safety, housing, healthcare, education and recreation for workers’ families, aimed at improving industrial safety and ease of doing business.
According to officials, the changes are intended to boost productivity, attract investment and generate jobs under the Centre’s Ease of Doing Business framework. They cover working hours per day and week, overtime, recess periods and extended hours.
Currently, factory workers cannot be made to work more than nine hours a day, extendable to 12 with approval from inspectors. The amendment will allow 13-hour shifts, subject to the worker’s written consent. The cap on extended working hours over three months is set to rise from 115 hours to 175.
A notification has already been issued seeking objections and suggestions, including on the proposal to lift restrictions on women working night shifts and in hazardous industries. The deadline for responses is the first week of September. Government sources said the Mahayuti administration may bring these changes through an ordinance.
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