Laboured movements

Introducing 12-hour shifts requires reflection

Karnataka and now Tamil Nadu have amended the Factories Act, 1948, to allow the introduction of 12-hour shifts, ostensibly to give large manufacturers greater flexibility to synchronise their production schedules with global supply chains. The change would enable factories to work 12-hour shifts four days a week, which means they would continue to conform to the weekly allowable limit of 48 hours stipulated by the Act. In Karnataka, these changes were reportedly made at the behest of Apple’s Taiwanese vendor Foxconn. Tamil Nadu, meanwhile, is positioning itself as a hub for investment in new-age industries such as electric vehicles and