Image Source: INDIA TODAY

The Odisha government has extended the working time in factories from 8 hours to 12 hours a day to ensure that production is not affected due to availability of lesser workforce in view of coronavirus lockdown. Taking in consideration, following requests made by industries and Industry Associations to compensate lost man-hours due to Covid-19 lockdown, the state government has increased working hours by 4 hours from 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week to 12 hours per day and 72 hours per week with overtime pay, CMD Sanjay kumar Singh IDCO (Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation) said. The government order stated that no adult worker shall be allowed or required to work in a factory for more than 12 hours any day and 72 hours in any week. The periods of work of adult workers in a factory each day shall be so fixed that no period shall exceed 6 hours and that no worker shall work for more than 6 hours before he has had an interval for rest of at least half an hour. The total spread-over shall not exceed 13 hours, the order stated. Additional four hours of overtime wages per day shall be paid as prescribed under Section 59 of Factories Act, subject to an overtime limit of 24 hours per week. Other guidelines under Covid-19 to be observed scrupulously, the order stated. Meanwhile, quarantine period has been increased from 14 days to 28 days in Odisha. Anytime travelling to the state will have to spend 21 days in quarantine centre and 7 days in home quarantine.