Extending daily working hours will neither benefit industries nor workers: K'taka govt

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government may not extend the daily working hours from 8 to 12, with Labour Minister A Shivaram Hebbar saying on Saturday that the move would neither benefit the industries nor workers.

Hebbar told PTI that the proposal has not been discussed and it may come for final deliberations next week.

He also noted that some states have already extended the working hours.

“If there are no jobs what can be done by extending working hours? If it is done (working hours extended to 12 hours), it would neither benefit workers nor industries. Let’s see what happens”, he said.

Asked if the government was in favour of the extension, he said, “I don’t think it will be ready for the (12 hour) proposal.”

Meanwhile, the Minister also said that their top priority now was to see that all MSMEs start operating again, salaries are paid to employees and there are no job losses for any reason.

If industries don’t reopen, how can workers get their employment? We should think in parallel, Hebbar said adding, the government was keeping the interests of both MSMEs and workers in mind.

He urged the Centre to offer a relief package to the MSME sector, saying it is facing very difficult times due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19-induced lockdown, and also noting its role in generating large-scale employment and feeding large industries.

The BJP-led government has done whatever within its limitations to help the MSMEs, he said.