Latest news with #DelhiShopsandEstablishmentAct
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Workplace reform: Women may soon be allowed night shifts in Delhi; labour department told to amend laws
NEW DELHI: Delhi govt has directed the labour department to make necessary changes in laws to allow women to work night shifts, but only with their consent. Officials said the directions were issued during a meeting chaired by lieutenant governor VK Saxena, which was also attended by chief minister Rekha Gupta, some of her colleagues in the council of ministers, and top city bureaucrats. The meeting aimed to review the status and progress of various aspects related to the flagship schemes, 'ease of doing business' and 'maximum governance - minimum government'. Officials mentioned that the previous Delhi govt gave its nod to do away with section 66(1)(b) of the Factories Act of 1948. This section stated that no woman shall be required or allowed to work in any factory except between the hours of 6 am and 7 pm. The govt also approved the draft of the Delhi Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2023, which allowed women to work during night shifts. However, these provisions were never implemented on the ground. You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi Poll Do you support the decision to allow women to work night shifts with their consent? Yes No Saxena stated that restrictive and archaic laws, processes, and regulatory regimes hampered and discouraged businesses and economic activities. LG and the chief minister asserted that progress during the last 11 years was "far from satisfactory" and that difficulty in doing business led to a situation where industries and businesses shifted to other states. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like People Aged 50-85 With No Life Insurance Could Get This Reassured Get Quote Undo They issued a slew of directions to re-engineer the govt processes. Officials said the labour department was also directed to ensure all safeguards by amending the Delhi Shops and Establishment Act and by issuing suitable notifications under the Factories Act. It was also directed to amend the Delhi Shops and Establishment Act to increase the threshold of the minimum number of employees from one to 10 for the applicability of the Act and to allow shops/establishments to work 24x7. Directions were also issued to increase the threshold of workers from 100 to 200 in the Industrial Dispute Act for seeking permission for closure. LG and CM asked the fire department to empanel agencies for a third-party audit. "Large commercial and industrial establishments may be allowed to get NOC on the audit certificate of empanelled agencies. Small establishments may be given an option for third-party audit. An expression of interest can be floated immediately," the official said. It was also stressed that the Delhi Pollution Control Committee should reduce the time to give consent to operate to 20 days, after which it should be a deemed approval, and should allow self-certification for MSME in both green and white industries. The revenue department has been asked to give a fresh look at section 81 and 33 of the Delhi Land Reforms Act, which make the transfer and sale of agricultural land and mutation almost impossible. The Information Technology Department was instructed to make a single-window portal for all kinds of NOCs.
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Delhi govt directs labour dept to allow women to work night shifts with consent
New Delhi: Delhi govt has directed the labour department to make necessary changes in laws to allow women to work night shifts, but only with their consent. Officials said the directions were issued during a meeting chaired by lieutenant governor VK Saxena, which was also attended by chief minister Rekha Gupta, some of her colleagues in the council of ministers, and top city bureaucrats. The meeting aimed to review the status and progress of various aspects related to the flagship schemes, 'ease of doing business' and 'maximum governance - minimum government'. Officials mentioned that the previous Delhi govt gave its nod to do away with section 66(1)(b) of the Factories Act of 1948. This section stated that no woman shall be required or allowed to work in any factory except between the hours of 6 am and 7 pm. The govt also approved the draft of the Delhi Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2023, which allowed women to work during night shifts. However, these provisions were never implemented on the ground. You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi Saxena stated that restrictive and archaic laws, processes, and regulatory regimes hampered and discouraged businesses and economic activities. LG and the chief minister asserted that progress during the last 11 years was "far from satisfactory" and that difficulty in doing business led to a situation where industries and businesses shifted to other states. They issued a slew of directions to re-engineer the govt processes. Officials said the labour department was also directed to ensure all safeguards by amending the Delhi Shops and Establishment Act and by issuing suitable notifications under the Factories Act. It was also directed to amend the Delhi Shops and Establishment Act to increase the threshold of the minimum number of employees from one to 10 for the applicability of the Act and to allow shops/establishments to work 24x7. Directions were also issued to increase the threshold of workers from 100 to 200 in the Industrial Dispute Act for seeking permission for closure. LG and CM asked the fire department to empanel agencies for a third-party audit. "Large commercial and industrial establishments may be allowed to get NOC on the audit certificate of empanelled agencies. Small establishments may be given an option for third-party audit. An expression of interest can be floated immediately," the official said. It was also stressed that the Delhi Pollution Control Committee should reduce the time to give consent to operate to 20 days, after which it should be a deemed approval, and should allow self-certification for MSME in both green and white industries. The revenue department has been asked to give a fresh look at section 81 and 33 of the Delhi Land Reforms Act, which make the transfer and sale of agricultural land and mutation almost impossible. The Information Technology Department was instructed to make a single-window portal for all kinds of NOCs. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Doctor's Day 2025 , messages and quotes!
Indian Express
01-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Night shifts for women, new layoff rule: Labour department in Delhi gets fresh directions
In a significant measure, the Delhi government has directed the Labour Department to make necessary changes to allow women to work in night shifts, but only with their consent, officials said on Tuesday. The Labour Department has been asked to put in place all safeguards by amending the Delhi Shops and Establishment Act and issuing notifications under the Factories Act, said officials from Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena's office. Officials said that directions were also given to amend the Delhi Shops and Establishment Act to increase the threshold of minimum number of employees from one to 10 for the applicability of the Act and to allow shops and establishments to work 24/7. The government has also given directions to 'increase the threshold of workers from 100 to 200, in the Industrial Dispute Act, for seeking permission for closure.' Explaining this further, a senior official from the Labour department said, 'Currently, if any factory or a company wants to exit the business and do layoffs, they have to seek clearance from the departments concerned and the authority. But now, if a factory has 200 or fewer employees, they don't have to seek permission for the closure of the factory and layoffs. This has been done as part of the ease of doing business…' When asked about the move's likely impact on labourers, the official said, 'The labourers will have options to approach the labour court. At present, if the company wants to exit and they don't have the profit to pay the labourers in future, there is no point. So, this is part of the ease of doing business.' Responding to this, Krishna Yadav, General Secretary of Shramik Vikas Sanghatan, said, 'If the government is allowing a factory or industry to exit the business and do layoffs without seeking permission from any authority. There should also be an act to provide compensation to the workers because they are the ones who will be affected and end up losing jobs without any employee funds or benefits.' The government issued a slew of directions, including these in a high-level meeting held by the L-G, along with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, to review the status and progress of various aspects related to the BJP government's flagship policies — 'Ease of Doing Business' and 'Maximum Governance – Minimum Government', enunciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At the meeting, the L-G also observed that 'restrictive and archaic laws, processes, and regulatory regimes had hampered and discouraged businesses and economic activities', his office underlined in a statement. 'It was underlined by the L-G and the CM that the progress during the last 11 years was far from satisfactory….,' The meeting was also attended by Delhi Home Minister Ashish Sood, Industries Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Chief Secretary Dharmendra, top police officers, and heads of all departments concerned. Meanwhile, the Fire department was asked to empanel agencies for a third-party audit. '… so that the large commercial establishments and industrial establishments are allowed to get NOC (no objection certificate) on the audit certificate of empanelled agencies. 'Small establishments may be given an option for a third-party audit. An expression of interest can be floated immediately,' said an official. The department was also asked to revisit its regulations in view of technological advancements and availability of small, drone-based and robotic firefighting equipment, which had made the existing regulations vis-à-vis the breadth of approach roads for access of fire tenders, redundant. Furthermore, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been directed to reduce the time to give 'consent to operate to 20 days, after which it should be a deemed approval'. It has also been directed to allow self-certification for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in both green and white industries and to empanel a third-party agency for certifications. Officials said that the IT Department will make a single window portal for all kinds of NOCs.
The Hindu
01-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Make provisions to let women work night shifts: govt. to officials
The Delhi government on Monday directed the Labour Department to take steps to allow women employees to work night shifts after taking their consent. The directions came following a review meeting on the ease of doing business chaired by Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. The department was also instructed to ensure the safety of the women employees by amending the Delhi Shops and Establishment Act, which prohibits a woman or a young person from working between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. during summer and between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. during winter. Additionally, Mr. Saxena and the CM also issued directions to amend the Act to increase the minimum threshold of workers from one to 10 members per establishment, and allow the shops to work round the clock. The L-G and the CM observed that the process to simplify labour laws in the last 11 years was 'far from satisfactory' and 'restrictive laws had hampered the businesses'. The previous Aam Aadmi Party government had in 2023 proposed the Delhi Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, seeking to allow women to work night shifts. However, the Delhi police had objected to the initiative, added the source. It was also decided that the process of doing business in Delhi must be 're-engineered' within six months. Others present at the meeting included Delhi Home Minister Ashish Sood and Industries Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, along with Chief Secretary Dharmendra, Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, and MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar.
Time of India
01-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Delhi govt directs Labour Dept to make changes to allow women to work in night shifts
The Delhi government has directed the Labour Department to make necessary changes to allow women to work in night shifts--but only with their consent, Raj Niwas officials said on Tuesday. Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena, along with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, chaired a high-level meeting on Tuesday to review the status and progress of various aspects related to the flagship schemes, 'Ease of Doing Business' and 'Maximum Governance - Minimum Government', enunciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Restrictive and archaic laws, processes and regulatory regimes had hampered and discouraged businesses and economic activities, Saxena observed. Saxena and Gupta asserted that progress during the last 11 years was "far from satisfactory". Difficulty in doing business had led to a situation wherein, industries and businesses had shifted to other states at the cost of Delhi, Gupta said. Live Events A slew of directions were issued to re-engineer the government processes. The Labour Department was directed to take immediate steps to allow women employees to work in night shifts, after taking their consent and also ensure all safeguards by amending the Delhi Shops and Establishment Act and by issuing suitable notifications under the Factories Act, the official said. The department was also directed to amend Delhi Shops and Establishment Act to increase the threshold of the minimum number of employees from one to 10 for applicability of the Act and to allow shops/establishments to work 24x7. Directions were also issued to increase the threshold of workers from 100 to 200 in the Industrial Dispute Act for seeking permission for closure, the official added. The Delhi Fire Department was asked to empanel agencies for a third party audit. "Large commercial and industrial establishments may be allowed to get NOC on audit certificate of empanelled agencies. Small establishments may be given an option for third-party audit. An expression of interest can be floated immediately," the official said. It was also stressed that the Delhi Pollution Control Committee should reduce the time to give consent to operate to 20 days, after which it should be a deemed approval. "DPCC should allow self-certification for MSME in both green and white industries. It may empanel third-party agencies for certifications," he added. Several sections and provisions of the Delhi Land Reforms Act, including Section 81 and 33, being implemented by the Revenue Department, were proving to be detrimental to farmers in the city, by way of making transfer, sale of land and mutation almost impossible, the official said, adding the department was asked to take a fresh look at the Act and specific provisions. The Information Technology Department was instructed to make a single-window portal for all kind of NOCs. It was decided that the implementation of these directions will be reviewed on a regular basis by the LG or the chief minister and should be completed within six months, the official said.
