On the last day of the Budget session of the Assembly that concluded last week, the M.K. Stalin-led government ignored strong opposition from legislators of multiple parties, including allies, and adopted the Factories (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2023. However, three days later, on Monday evening, when it became apparent that things could get out of hand, Mr. Stalin announced that all further action on the proposed law is being put on hold.
The decision means that workers in factories face no immediate threat of their daily working hours being increased beyond the standard eight hours.
The amendment pushed laboriously by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government sought to exempt “any factory or group or class or description of factories, from any or all of the provisions of Sections 51, 52, 54, 56 or 56” of the Factories Act, 1948.
