Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government, in its 27th State Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi today, approved amendments to the Factories Act, 1948 and the Odisha Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1956.

As per the amendments, women can now be employed in all factories and establishments for all types of work before 6 am and after 7 pm, subject to their written consent and safety conditions prescribed by the state government.

The Cabinet also extended the maximum daily working hours to 10 hours, while keeping the weekly cap at 48 hours. This will apply to all factories or specified groups of factories under conditions determined by the state.

For shops and commercial establishments with 20 or more employees, the daily working hours have been increased from 9 to 10 hours.

In addition, the overtime limit has been raised significantly. For factories, the cap has been increased from 115 hours to 144 hours in a three-month period. For shops and establishments, the overtime ceiling has gone up from 50 hours to 144 hours in the same duration.

Overall, the Cabinet approved four proposals — one from the Works Department, one from the School and Mass Education Department, and two from the Labour and Employees’ State Insurance Department.