Haryana Assembly passes Bill to increase working time to 10 hours for shop employees
Chandigarh (PTI): The Haryana Assembly on Monday passed a bill increasing the daily working hours from nine to ten hours while retaining the overall weekly limit of 48 hours for employees of shops and private commercial establishments.
The Haryana Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2025 has been passed to amend the Haryana Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958.
While Labour Minister Anil Vij said that the Bill aims to reduce the compliance burden on smaller establishments through reforms for promoting economic growth while ensuring continued protection for workers, Congress MLA Aditya Surjewala differed. Pointing to some of its provisions, he asked if it was ease of doing business or legalising "modern-day slavery".
Minister Vij said that the Bill was beneficial for both workers and shopkeepers, and it was in the interest of workers as well as traders.
There is also a provision for an increase in the permissible limit of overtime work per quarter from 50 hours to 156 hours, enabling shops and commercial establishments to meet peak business demands more efficiently.
The Bill also seeks to increase the maximum period of continuous work without rest from five to six hours.
Surjewala moved an amendment which his party legislators backed to retain the existing nine-hour limit, but the House rejected it by voice vote.
Surjewala said that the Bill has the provision to increase the daily working hours from nine to ten while overtime has been proposed to be increased from 50 hours to 156, which, he said, would work out to two extra hours every day.
"Now, take 10 hours of daily work with two hours of overtime. If any person has to work 12 hours a day for six days a week, what time does it leave for himself or his family?" he said.
Surjewala asked whether it was ease of doing business or legalising modern-day slavery.
Vij told the House that the increase in threshold limit from zero employees to 20 or more employees in any establishment for registration and other regulatory provisions of the Bill in order to reduce compliance burden for smaller businesses, will encourage job creation and eliminate the fear of non-compliance.
Establishments with fewer than 20 workers will no longer need a registration certificate under the bill but they will only need to provide an intimation of their business, Vij said.
Earlier, every shopkeeper was required to register.
He pointed out that even today, in states like Karnataka, shopkeepers are required to register even if they do not have a single worker.
However, Surjewala claimed that over 80 per cent of shops and establishments that have less than 20 workers would be excluded from the Act's provisions.
Vij said that the increase in the daily hours of work from the existing nine hours to ten hours, inclusive of rest intervals, is subject to a maximum of 48 hours in any week. This measure aims to create greater economic activity, enhance employment opportunities and give establishments the flexibility to handle emergencies, peak demand or staff shortages without disruption.
Vij said before finalising this Bill, he studied data from states across India. In Haryana, registration has been mandated for establishments with 20 or more workers.
Similarly, in Maharashtra, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, registration is compulsory for establishments having 20 or more workers.
Likewise, the daily working hours are 10 hours in Haryana, as well as in Maharashtra, Punjab, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
The Bill was among the eight bills passed on the concluding day of the Winter session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha.
The Bills included the Haryana Private Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the Haryana Abadi Deh (Vesting, Recording and Resolving of Ownership Rights) Bill, 2025; and the Haryana Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025.
The Haryana Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill was passed to amend certain enactments for decriminalisation and rationalisation of offences to further improve trust-based governance for ease of living and ease of doing business.
The Haryana Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill had been introduced to reduce 164 minor criminal provisions in 42 state Acts across 17 departments by removing obsolete and redundant clauses, introducing civil penalties and administrative actions for minor technical and procedural lapses, and decriminalising minor and technical offences through the elimination of penal provisions.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
