Farm bills have shaken the whole of Karnataka. The Karnataka government on Friday approved the Industrial Disputes and Certain Other Laws (Karnataka Amendment) Bill 2020, which trade unions have vehemently opposed. The Bill was announced without much opposition except for Chittapur MLA Priyank Kharge, who called it "anti-labor". There were three major revisions to the existing act. Firstly, establishments employing more than 300 people will have to seek the government's authority to lay off employees. This has been raised by 100 employees.
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Secondly, the working hours for overtime employees have been increased from 75 to 125 hours per quarter. Thirdly, the threshold for employees has been increased from 10 employees to 20 in factories which use power, and 20 employees to 40 in factories that do not use power. The amendments were made to Acts such as the Industrial Disputes Act, the Factories Act and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act. The Bill was tabled by Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar, who said that it would ensure ease of doing business and "provide opportunities for those who want to work overtime".
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When Shivaram Hebbar intended increasing overtime working hours of employees, former IT and BT Minister Priyank Kharge said, "This is anti-labor. This will make working conditions horrible for employees in the name of ease of doing business." Shivaram Hebbar countered Kharge's statement and said that employees are willing to work longer shifts. This correction was brought in after the Karnataka government published an ordinance in July this year with the same provisions. In addition to this amendment, the Karnataka government passed 16 other bills in the Assembly on Friday.
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