-Economic and Political Weekly How will the amendments to the Factories Act affect women workers? How do women view the "protections" and night work? Apoorva Kaiwar (akaiwar@yahoo.co.in) is a labour lawyer and consultant on issues of gender and labour. The central government is proposing to amend several labour laws. The process of amending them has been underway since 2011, which means that it is not only the new dispensation that is eager to...

-The Indian Express The original Act identifies a factory based on the number of workers employed. More than half the factories across the country may be exempt from the restrictive provisions applicable under the current legislative framework, with the Factories Amendment Bill, 2014 proposing to revise the definition of a factory by effectively doubling the threshold of the number of workers employed in such a unit. The move is expected to ease...

-The Indian Express The changes also aim to prohibit pregnant women and persons with disabilities from being assigned to machinery-in-motion. In its first major step towards overhauling the country's labour laws, the government on Wednesday cleared long-pending amendments to three critical laws in the sector that would enable a doubling of the overtime limit for workers, exemption for firms employing up to 40 workers from compliance of labour regulations and allow more...

-The Hindu Business Line The case against labour inspector raj is overstated. Labour courts need to be strengthened The labour reform debate in India has acquired renewed vigour under the new government. The Rajasthan and the Haryana governments have recently proposed to amend a few Central labour laws. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has also circulated labour reform proposals. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has issued an "advisory" to the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Just days before the 2014-15 Union Budget, the government on Monday said it plans to amend the archaic Factories Act, 1948 - the first move in more than a decade to revamp labour laws. Most governments have avoided labour reforms for fear of a backlash from the politically powerful labour lobby. Companies have cited obsolete labour laws as a key hurdle for doing business and the...