The Centre has sent advisories to all States asking them to amend laws to allow women to work night-shifts in factories, including textiles and garments.

“The Labour Ministry has sent advisories on night-shift for women. States such as Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Maharashtra and Gujarat are already working on it and many others are expected to follow soon,” a government official told BusinessLine .

In fact, Tamil Nadu already allows women to work night shifts in garment factories in Tirupur district. The government has come up with a set of guidelines to ensure that women are safe at the work place.

The advisories sent to States are in line with the ‘Model Shops and Establishment (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Services) Bill 2016’ which was cleared by the Cabinet on Wednesday. Among other things, the Bill provides for allowing women to work night-shifts provided adequate security and good work conditions are provided.

As per the proposal, the model law can be adopted by States with a provision of modifying it as per their requirement. “The Centre can only provide direction to States. They have to frame their own laws,” the official said. The Textiles Ministry had taken up the matter in a big way with the Labour Ministry, as there is a big demand for women workers in garment export units during peak season.

Almost 2 crore of the estimated 3.5 crore work force engaged in the textile sector comprise women, according to industry figures.

However, there are reports from a number of non-government organisations that point out that women workers employed by several garment factories in Tamil Nadu who work night-shifts and stay in basic hostels provided by their employers are very unhappy with their working conditions.

The ‘Model Shops and Establishment Bill 2016’ lays down that apart from security for women, better working conditions such as drinking water, canteen, first aid, lavatory and crèche should also be provided by employees.

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