-These Reforms Aim to Strengthen Worker Welfare and Promote Ease of Doing Business
Chandigarh /New Delhi : The Haryana Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini here today, has approved ‘The Factories (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025’ to modernise labour regulations in line with present-day industrial practices, promote Ease of Doing Business and ensure gender equality and worker welfare in factories across the state.
The Ordinance introduces key amendments to the Factories Act, 1948 pertaining to issuance of appointment letters to workers, women’s participation in all types of factory work, flexible working hours and regulated overtime provisions.
Under the amendment, every employer or factory management will now be mandated to issue a formal appointment letter to each worker at the time of joining, ensuring transparency, clarity on employment terms, and legal protection for both employers and workers.
In another progressive step, women workers will be allowed to work on or near machinery, provided necessary safety measures and protective equipment are ensured by employers. The outdated restriction under Section 27 of the Act prohibiting women and children from working near cotton openers has been omitted, as child labour is already banned under existing laws.
To enhance industrial efficiency, flexibility in working hours is provided to facilitate 5 days working week or 6 days working week, while maintaining the weekly limit of 48 hours. The amendment also increases the permissible overtime limit from 115 hours to 144 hours per quarter. All overtime work will remain voluntary, properly recorded and compensated at double the normal rate of wages, ensuring protection of workers’ rights. The amendment ordinance will be effective after obtaining assert of the President of India.
The new provisions aim to balance the twin objectives of worker welfare and industrial growth, fostering an environment conducive to investment, productivity, and employment generation in Haryana