Karnataka Assembly passes a bill to allow women to work the night shift.
Story so far: On Wednesday, the Karnataka Assembly passed The Factories (Karnataka Amendment) Bill. The amendment allows women to work night shifts in factories. It also permits employees to take three days off a week, provided they work 12 hours a day consecutively for four days.
- As per the Bill, women can work from 7 pm to 6 am if the employers install a host of safety measures like transport facilities. The Bill passes the onus on employers to prevent sexual harassment.
- As per the amendment, the government will set overtime hours, during which employees will earn at twice the rate of ordinary wages.
Security measures: The Bill mandates employers to establish an appropriate working environment for women. This implies that their night-duty transport vehicles be equipped with CCTV and GPS, factories should have proper lighting and CCTV coverage, and women should be employed in batches of no less than 10.