Increasing working hours to 10 is unscientific, says Labour Minister Santosh Lad
Bengaluru: Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad has expressed strong opposition to the central government’s proposal to increase the daily working hours of employees from 9 to 10 hours, calling the move unscientific and impractical.
Speaking at a press conference at Vikasa Soudha on Thursday, the minister said that the Union Labour Ministry had sent a proposal to all states to amend the 1961 Karnataka Shops and Establishments Act to extend the working hours. However, he clarified that the Karnataka government will first gather feedback from workers before taking any decision.
“The state believes in equal policy opportunities. While we do have provisions for additional work hours when necessary, in most progressive countries, there is no pressure on workers to extend working hours. But in India, such pressure has been increasing,” he noted.
Citing Bengaluru as an example, Lad pointed out that workers often spend up to two hours commuting between home and office. “Considering such issues, increasing working hours further is not reasonable,” he said.
The minister further stated that if workers voluntarily agree to the extended hours, the rule may be implemented selectively in certain companies or sectors.
“We will issue guidelines accordingly. However, if workers face stress or problems, they are free to file complaints with the Labour Department. We will then investigate and take appropriate legal action,” he assured.
Reacting to reports that India’s largest IT firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), plans to reduce its workforce by 2% by the 2026 financial year, Lad said, “We will talk to the company. If complaints arise, we will take them seriously.”
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
