Tamil Nadu withdraws amendments to Factories Act; Stalin says it is a 'bold move'

Under pressure from allies and trade unions, the Tamil Nadu government on Monday announced the withdrawal of the controversial Factories (Amendment) Act 2023 envisaging providing flexible working hours for desirable employees in factories of select sectors, with Chief Minister M K Stalin calling it a “bold move.”

The decision comes exactly a week after Stalin announced that the Bill has been “put on hold” following widespread opposition from alliance partners, trade unions and others who alleged that the legislation could have emerged as a threat to employees’ rights. They also said the “flexible working hours” would stretch the mandatory working hours to 12 hours from the present 8 hours of duty and hence the Act should not be notified, despite Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu clarifying that the total working hours in a week is capped at 48 and will not be changed.

The amendment to the Factories Act was aimed at benefitting electronics manufacturers like Foxconn and Pegatron, involved in assembling high-end Apple iPhones to increase their production. Officials had said the 12-hour flexible working hours were devised to ensure that Tamil Nadu stays in the competition to woo more electronics manufacturers as several countries in south-east Asia are involved in attracting investments in the sector.

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In his address at the May Day celebrations here, Stalin said the government decided to amend the Factories Act only with the intention of creating more job opportunities for youngsters from across the state, especially in southern and northern regions. He added that the amendment would have applied only to a few sectors and had measures to protect employees' welfare, but trade unions had several doubts which led to criticism.

“I appreciate the stand taken by the DMK’s trade union which opposed the amendments brought by the party-led government. This shows how democracy thrives in the DMK…The government held talks with trade unions and has now withdrawn the Bill. This is a bold move,” Stalin said.

Accusing the BJP of withdrawing the farm bills only after massive protests by farmers for about a year and blaming the AIADMK government for suspending lakhs of employees by invoking ESMA, Stalin said the DMK withdrew the legislation within days of trade unions opposing since it knows the pain of labourers.

“I have never considered making compromises as an insult. I take pride in that. If bringing a legislation is a bold move, withdrawing it is also a bold move,” Stalin said, adding that legislators will be communicated about this formally.

The trade unions and parties protested the Bill despite the government clarifying that said the amendment will only apply to industries like electronics and non-leather shoe-making, most of which are from Taiwan and other Asian countries.