Over the past one and a half months, the Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union has led widespread protests and continuous campaigns against the bill – in IT parks, on public roads, and outside IT company offices – drawing large participation.
Published Jul 29, 2025 | 8:46 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 29, 2025 | 8:46 PM
The draft amendment proposed that employees could work up to 10 hours a day and 48 hours a week.
Synopsis: The Karnataka government has withdrawn the proposed amendment to the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961, which sought to increase working hours in the IT/ITeS sector. The decision follows sustained opposition from employees and the KITU, which led extensive protests and campaigns across the state.
The Congress-led Karnataka government has withdrawn a contentious proposal to increase working hours for employees in the IT/ITeS sector after protests and pushback from employees and unions.
Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office confirmed to South First that the decision was taken in response to strong opposition from IT sector employees.
Over the past one and a half months, KITU has led widespread protests and continuous campaigns against the bill – in IT parks, on public roads, and outside IT company offices – drawing large participation.
The Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU), the only registered union representing IT workers in the state, said the decision to scrap the proposed amendment was conveyed by Additional Labour Commissioner G Manjunath during a meeting with union office bearers.
“Today we had a discussion with Additional Labour Commissioner G Manjunath regarding the TCS layoff and in that meeting he communicated to us that the government has decided to scrap the amendment in the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act to increase the working hours,” said Sooraj Nidiyanga, general secretary of KITU.
The proposed Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Bill 2025, which aimed to amend the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961 to allow longer working hours, was presented at a stakeholder meeting convened by the Labour Department on 18 June.
The draft amendment proposed that employees could work up to 10 hours a day and 48 hours a week, with total working hours – including overtime – capped at 12 hours per day.
It also sought to raise the permissible overtime limit from 50 hours to 144 hours over a three-month period. Establishments with fewer than 10 employees would remain exempt from the Act.
The move followed an advisory from the Union government urging states to review and update work hour regulations in line with evolving industrial needs.
KITU said its representatives had strongly opposed the move at the meeting, arguing that it amounted to a direct attack on workers’ fundamental right to a personal life.
The union had warned the government that it would not allow such a bill to be passed under any circumstances.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
