Delhi Govt Pushes for Progress: Seeks Approval for Women to Work Night Shifts

According to officials on 1 July, the Delhi government has taken a major step by ordering the Labour Department to make the required adjustments to let women work night shifts, but only with their permission.

According to authorities from Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena's office, the Labour Department has been directed to implement these precautions by revising the Delhi Shops and Establishment Act and issuing notifications under the Factories Act.

As per the officials, instructions were also provided to change the Delhi Shops and Establishment Act to let shops and establishments operate around the clock and to raise the minimum number of employees required for the Act to be applicable from one to ten.

Changing the Industrial Dispute Act

The government has also issued instructions to raise the threshold of workers from 100 to 200 in the Industrial Dispute Act for requesting closure permission.

A senior official from the Labour department further explained this by saying that at the moment, factories and companies who wish to close their doors and lay off employees must obtain permission from the relevant departments and authorities.

However, factories with 200 or fewer workers no longer need to obtain approval before closing and laying off workers. This was done to make it easier to conduct business.

In response to a question concerning the possible effects of the move on workers, the official stated that they would have the ability to petition the labour court.

Currently, there is no rationale for the company to continue operations if it is unable to generate sufficient revenue to compensate its employees in the future. Thus, this contributes to the ease of conducting business.

According to a media outlet, the government is permitting a plant or company to shut down and conduct layoffs without obtaining approval from any higher authority. Since workers will be the ones impacted and ultimately lose their positions without any employee funds or perks, legislation should also be passed to compensate them.

Government Issued Slew of Instructions on Various Initiatives

The L-G and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta held a high-level meeting to review the status and progress of various aspects related to the BJP government's flagship policies, "Ease of Doing Business" and "Maximum Governance – Minimum Government," which were announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

L-G's office emphasised in a statement that the L-G also noted during the discussion that enterprises and economic activity had been hindered and discouraged by restrictive and outdated laws, procedures, and regulatory regimes.

Top police officers, leaders of all relevant ministries, Delhi Home Minister Ashish Sood, Industries Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, and Chief Secretary Dharmendra also attended the meeting.