NEW DELHI: Amid the debate triggered by industry captains seeking higher working hours, the Economic Survey favours giving factories the flexibility to average the legally capped working hours over three weeks or longer, as against implementing them week-wise.
It has argued that nimble regulations will help the management meet production orders and aid growth.
The Survey cited studies to state that spending over 60 hours a week on work could have adverse health effects. Spending long hours at one's desk is detrimental to mental well-being and those who spend 12 hours or more per day at a desk have 'distressed' or 'struggling' levels of mental well-being.
"New Labour Laws represent a step in the right direction. With the introduction of flexible regulations and their effective implementation, these laws could lead to growth for firms, creating more employment opportunities. They also safeguard labour rights and allow workers to increase their earnings," it said.
The Survey lamented that labour regulations, like the Factories Act (1948), limit the permissible working hours to 48 in a week, in contrast to other countries which "allow these caps to be averaged over multiple days and weeks". It stated that India's working hour regulations prevent manufacturers from meeting demand surges and participating in global markets.
"ILO recommends allowing manufacturers the freedom to average working hour limits across 3 weeks," the Survey noted. However, during a briefing about the Survey, chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran refused to indulge questions about the debate over increasing the daily working hours, triggered by Infosys chief N R Narayan Murthy's advocacy of 70-hour work week and L&T chairman S N Subrahmanyan calling for a 90-hour work week.
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