Andhra’s Labour Law Rekindles a National Debate

The Telugu Desam Party–led government in Andhra Pradesh has pushed through an amendment that could reshape the state’s industrial workforce: a 10-hour workday. Presented as a reform to boost investment and align with international norms, the move has elicited swift backlash from workers’ unions and human rights groups.

The amendment, passed without legislative debate or public consultation, modifies the Factories Act to allow daily work shifts of up to 10 hours, while keeping the weekly cap at 48. It also raises the overtime ceiling from 75 to 144 hours per quarter, extends the permissible continuous work period before a break from five to six hours, and relaxes restrictions on night shifts for women. While the government insists these are “modern” and “flexible” reforms aligned with global practices, critics fear the changes will exacerbate worker fatigue, reduce family time, and roll back decades of labour protections.

“This is not a labour reform, this is a rollback to colonial conditions,” V Srinivasa Rao, CPI(M) state secretary, said. “Stretching the workday to 10 hours will turn labourers into modern-day slaves.” The state’s rationale, as articulated by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Information and Public Relations Minister K Parthasarathy, is unambiguous: it is about signalling investor-readiness. “Because of this (law), investors in factories will come to our state. These labour rules will be favourable for labourers,” Parthasarathy told reporters. He added that the changes “empower women economically and promote gender inclusion,” presenting the reform as progressive rather than punitive. Naidu himself has framed the policy as a key component of Andhra’s IT and Global Capacity Centres (GCC) Policy 4.0, aimed at projecting the state as an industrial hub. “Such initiatives can help us strike a better work-life balance,” he has said.

Public health experts warn of the physiological toll. “Longer shifts have a proven link to hypertension, disrupted sleep, and burnout,” said Dr Anand Rao, a Bengaluru-based occupational health specialist. “This policy will particularly harm low-income and lower-caste workers who have the least ability to push back.” The Human Rights Forum (HRF), in a strongly worded statement, called the law “an irresponsible and deliberate assault on labour rights and dignity” and demanded an immediate rollback.

It bears mention that Tamil Nadu, arguably the state’s closest industrial peer, recently shelved a similar law under pressure from civil society. In April 2023, the DMK government passed a bill to allow 12-hour shifts with an option for a four-day work week. But following mass protests by students and workers, Chief Minister MK Stalin withheld and then formally withdrew the bill during a May Day address, calling his decision “a matter of pride” and declaring, “If it is brave to introduce a law, it is brave to withdraw it. We will not compromise on the welfare of the workers under any circumstances.”

That precedent looms large over Andhra’s new law. While Tamil Nadu retreated in favour of worker sentiment, Andhra Pradesh seems intent on pressing forward, positioning itself as an investor-friendly outlier. But the political costs could mount. Protests have already been announced by trade unions across the state, with a coordinated mobilisation planned for July 9.

To understand what is at stake, it is necessary to rewind back to how the eight-hour workday became law in India. Codified in the Factories Act of 1948, passed in the first flush of independence, it marked a formal break from the long, undefined hours of colonial factory labour. The Act guaranteed adult workers a maximum of eight hours per day, along with rest intervals, weekly holidays, and regulated overtime. It drew upon international standards first articulated at the 1919 Washington International Labour Conference, and was later reinforced by Article 42 of the Constitution, which directs the State to ensure “just and humane conditions of work”. The eight-hour cap became emblematic of a worker’s dignity.

Labour falls under the Concurrent List, allowing both the Centre and states to legislate. The Factories Act also permits states to seek presidential assent for amendments tailored to local industrial demands. In recent years, several states have tested these limits. Karnataka, under its previous BJP government, passed an amendment in 2023 allowing 12-hour workdays—only to roll it back in 2024. Tamil Nadu’s 2023 attempt was even more short-lived. Other states including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat invoked emergency provisions during the Covid-19 lockdown to extend work hours and relax safeguards, citing economic necessity. Most of these measures quietly lapsed or were legally challenged.

Andhra Pradesh may be chasing the efficiencies of the future, but for those on the shopfloor, the clock seems to be turning backward.

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